Young Love 2
by Li-Li-ThePinkbookgirl
Summary: COMPLETE Sequel to Young Love. Christine and Erik have been married for 5 years. Happiness surrounds them, but what happens when several events begin to try their marriage? Will their love make it? RandR Please!
1. Attack on Love

**I'm backkkkkkkkkkk. Thought that you saw the last of me? Yeah, think again. I am back with PART 2 of Young Love, my wonderfully successful story here in Phantom of the Opera land. Of course, if this is your first time entering my little world, you can still just read this story, but reading Young Love would be just cool for me! It has so much fluff and love that, oh, it makes my heart feel fluffy! Okay, okay, getting back to business. I hope that my old readers and my new readers will love this story just as much as Young Love. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: If I ever marry Gerald Butler, buy all the rights to all Phantom of the Opera books or be in any of the movies, I will let you know. Until then, I own nothing. Not even Gerald Butler :(**

Christine opened her eyes and sighed happily. She rolled over but was upset when she did not feel the normal warm lump that was her husband, Erik. She sat up and looked around. His mask was still the side table meaning that he was still in the lair that was their home, and the organ music coming the main room was obviously from Erik playing. Christine smiled.

In the five years of marriage that they had shared, Christine had begun to get used to Erik's strange habits, including getting up in the morning and playing organ music. Christine was still the Prima Donna of the opera and was still one of the most popular singers that the opera had ever had They had not yet gotten pregnant, like most couples would be by now, but Christine was not worried. She knew that God would choose the time for her to either get pregnant or even just not have children. With just Erik by her side, she knew that she would be happy for the rest of their days.

Christine pushed the covers away and got up, putting on a robe over her thin nightgown. She walked out to the main room and watched Erik as he played.

He had stopped wearing his mask in their home. Christine had gotten used to his face and Erik was now comfortable without his mask on. He still wore it out of the lair, but he always took it off when he came back.

Christine stopped reminiscing and went up behind Erik, covering his eyes. "Guess who."

Erik smiled under her hands. "Could it be the love of my life? Or maybe the women whom I had just spent a lovely evening with?"

Christine blushed and removed her hands. "I would hope both." They shared a kiss for a minute before Erik took her in his lap and placed his hands over hers and began to move them over the organ.

"Time for a lesson." Christine stuck her lips out causing Erik to laugh. "I know that you are not enjoying the lessons but you wanted to learn to the play the organ and I plan on teaching you. Now, let me teach you a few new keys."

Christine became swept up in the lesson, leaving all thoughts out.

* * *

Christine bent down to straighten her stocking as she waited for her cue to get on stage. It was opening night for the play _La Nina_, the wonderful romance between a girl in an arranged marriage and her husband who did not know how to show his feelings toward her. Christine had been practicing over and over again to master this piece and was now ready to get going.

Finally she heard her cue and walked on. She let the emotion of the play sweep over her and take her away, imagining that it was Erik who played her husband, not Pierre Note. She knew that Erik was watching her from his assigned box beside the stage and that she was singing really for him.

After the play, she walked to her room, aware that Erik was watching her from above. She wanted to go down to the lair, but she felt as though she could just fall on her bed and go to sleep right there. She lifted her pinky finger as she opened her door, the signal to Erik that she was staying in her room that night. She knew that he would not like it, but she just wanted to go to bed right then and let her voice relax.

She walked into her bedroom and changed into her nightgown. As she moved her covers back, she heard a knock on her door. She went over and opened it.

A man that she recognized as one of the workers backstage stood before her.

"Good evening, mousier." Christine greeted the man, hoping that he would just go away.

The man pushed her back and closed her door. Christine suddenly felt alert and watched the man as he pulled a knife from his pocket. Fear filled her and she tried to run past him. He stopped her and pushed her down to the bed, where he began to kiss her neck. Christine tried to scream, but the man covered her mouth with his hand.

"If I were you, I would be silent or I will kill you now. Of course, I will kill you later, but you might want to live a little longer." Christine struggled against the man as he began to kiss down her neck and to untie the knot around her waist that kept her nightgown closed.

Christine pulled her arm out and reached for her night stand, hoping to reach something that could be used as a weapon. She worked faster as she felt him begin to rip her nightgown off after giving up on the knot.

Finally she was able to reach a vase and brought it down upon his head, knocking him out. She quickly got up and ran for it, out her door and toward the roof top, not thinking she pulled what was left of her nightgown closer.

* * *

Erik stood on the roof top, admiring the stars.

After getting the signal from Christine that she would be spending the night in her bedroom, Erik came up here to admire a sight that was beautiful, but not as beautiful as his dear Christine.

Suddenly, the sound of the only door to the roof opened and he quickly jumped behind a statue to avoid being seen. He heard crying and someone drop to the ground. Thinking that it was probably some ballet rat upset at finding her lover had cheated on her, he peaked around to see if he could sneak away and saw what looked to a homeless girl in rags that barely covered that parts that it was supposed to cover.

He peaked around a little more to see if the girl was harmed and was shocked when he saw her face. It was Christine!

He jumped down and ran to her, covering her with his cloak. She began to pull away bit when she looked up and saw that it was him, she burst into fresh tears and grabbed onto him, as if her life depended on it. Erik slowly wrapped his cloak around her tighter and stood up. He could get revenge on who ever harmed her later. She really needed his comfort right now.

**How did you like it? I know that this chapter was a pretty sad opening, but the story will get better, I promise! Please REVIEW and let me know how the first chapter went or even just to say hi and welcome back! Until next chapter, Li Li**

**www(dot)thepinkbookworm(dot)com**


	2. Recovering Love

**Hi again! See, I did not just abandon this story like other people do! I rock! :)lol ENJOY!**

Christine slowly opened her eyes. Once she was able to adjust to the light she began to look about her. The only thing above her was a black netting. She glanced around her and saw that she was in a big bed in the shape of a swan. As her mind began to clear of its fuzziness, she rubbed her arm and instead of skin she felt the soft fabric of a nightgown. Fear gripped her and she tried to sit up, but a strong arm stopped her. She looked over and found herself inches away from Erik's face.

He gave her a smile as she stared at him. She quickly grabbed onto him and tucked her head into his shirt, not wanting to ever face the world outside.

Suddenly all the events of last night flooded back to her and she held onto Erik more, if that was possible, and began to sob. Erik wrapped his arms around her and began to rub her back. "It is okay, my angel, everything will be alright."

Christine nodded, but continued to cry. After a few minutes, she stopped and leaned back, tears still glistening on her cheeks. Erik reached up and dried her cheeks with his sleeve. Christine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Oh, Erik. I, I just do not know what to think. That man..."

Erik brushed her cheek. "If you do not want to talk now, I understand."

Christine nodded. "Alright, thank you."

She curled up to him and closed her eyes, letting dreams take over her mind.

* * *

When Christine awoke again, she was still in bed, but the netting had been pulled back and Erik was gone. She sighed and rolled over. She felt content in bed, but she wanted Erik close to her again. She got out of bed and put on her robe, finding a pile of rags next to her dresser. She realized that must have been what she was wearing last night. Pushing that thought away, she made her way to the main area where she found Erik preparing breakfast and putting it on a tray. He looked up when she came in and grinned slightly.

"You were not meant to get up yet. I was going to bring breakfast to you."

Christine smiled a little and walked over to him. "Oh really? Trying to be romantic again, husband?"

Erik pretended to be offended. "Trying to be romantic? I am always romantic! You are lucky to have me as your husband."

Christine's smile faded and she wrapped her arms around him. "Yes, I am lucky to have you as a husband."

Erik wrapped his arms around her and they just stood there, not saying anything, just enjoying this comfort that they found in one another.

After a few minutes, they broke apart and sat down to eat their breakfast. After taking a sip of milk, Christine asked Erik, "By the way, thank you for changing me into my nightgown."

Erik nodded. "You are welcome. I knew that the nightgown you had been wearing would not be sufficient for keeping you comfortable, so I took it off and put you in that nightgown. However, I know that you are uncomfortable with me doing something like that to you, so I apologize if it made you a little upset."

Christine felt a blush begin on her cheeks and looked down. "No, I am thankful, even not knowing what you did to me while I was asleep."

After they finished breakfast, Erik went over to the couch and sat down, Christine laying next to him. Finally Christine said, "Erik, I think that I should tell you what happened last night."

Erik glanced down at her in concern. "Are you sure? Because if it is too soon for you, I understand."

Christine shook her head. "No, I need to get this out of the way and start moving on. If I do not tell you, I think that I will feel like I am just hauling around a huge burden."

Erik wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Alright, tell me."

Christine then retold the events of what had happened last night, trying to not give too much detail, but not knowing what else to say to explain it. As she talked, Erik felt anger begin to build up in him again as he listened to everything that the man had done to his HIS wife and how he may have been able to stop him if he had just stayed near her door a little bit longer. When she was finally done, she was crying, hugging Erik closer for comfort.

Erik rubbed her back and Christine sat up, taking a deep breath. "Erik, I do not think that I can go back up to the Opera. I feel that I may get attacked again and I do not know if I an handle it!"

Erik brushed her cheek with his hand and nodded. "It is alright, Christine, I understand. If you do not want to go back up to the Opera House, then you do not need to go back up to the Opera House. You can stay down here as long as you want to."

Christine smiled. "Thank you, Erik."

Erik grinned a little. "Although, the only company you will have is me, and I do not know how you would handle that."

Christine rolled her eyes, but could not help grinning too. "Yes, I do not know how I will be able to survive alone with my loving husband." Christine pretended to lean back in despair, causing both of them to burst into laughter, destroying the somber mood that had fallen over the lair.

**How did you like it?? Please let me know in a REVIEW! It would be greatly appreciated, and you would be thanked at the end in the last chapter! Okay, maybe that is not a big incentive to review, but I would still appreciate it. Until next chapter, bye! Li Li**


	3. Love Moves On

**Hi again, still on schedule! ENJOY!**

Christine sat in a comfy chair, reading a novel. Erik had left to go get supplies, leaving her down here for a couple hours. She hated him leaving, but she knew that they needed food, so, after Erik making sure that all doors were locked from inside and could only be opened by him, he left, leaving a gun behind for her to use if needed. It had now been and hour since he had left, so she was catching up on some reading.

Christine closed the book as she finished it and sighed. She was tired of reading and wanted something to do. Maybe she could make dinner for Erik. He had been so kind and thoughtful to her since she had decided to stay down here and not go back up to the Opera House a week ago.

Christine stood up and went to the kitchen. After she gathered what little ingredients they had, she decided on making pasta and garlic bread. Once the bread was in the oven, Christine got the water boiling and put the noodles in it. She sat on a chair as they cooked and began to day dream of her childhood.

_Christine was 8 when he father took her to the beach for the first time. She was so excited to learn to swim that she could barely contain herself. After a full day of practice, her father let her go out into the water on her own. _

_She swam around in the shallow water, sometimes poking her head down to see that fish. She was doing great until a large wave hit her and pulled her under. She could not get back to the surface and began to sink. But just before she thought she was going to die, she felt two strong arms pull her up and place her on the shore. _

_Christine coughed up sea water as her father watched over her, soaking wet as well from rescuing her. After she was done, she looked up at her father and told him that she never wanted to go into the ocean again. Her father nodded and told her that if she did not want to then she did not have to. _

_Since he had their cottage for two weeks, her father let her stay in her bedroom for a few days, then he took her out for a walk along the beach, making sure that he stood between her and the waves. Then he walked with her as they waded in the shallow water, with Christine always holding his hand. Finally, after a week and a half, her father helped her go for a swim in the ocean, never leaving her side and always holding onto her if she needed it. That day Christine learned that the sea was not as scary as it was and began to go swimming again, first with her father and then on her own. _

_Even though she had almost drowned, Christine had learned, with her father's help, that even though swimming could be dangerous, with help from the ones you love, it can be wonderful and fun, too._

Christine was brought back from her memories as the lid began to tremble under the boiling water. She quickly drained the noodles and checked the bread, but her mind never left that time at the beach.

As she placed the food on the table, the gates opened and Erik rowed in, supplies piled high on the boat. She met him at the edge of the water and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a kiss. Erik sniffed the air.

"I smell something. Garlic bread, I believe?"

Christine nodded. "Yes, it is all ready to eat now."

Erik followed her to the table and, after taking his cloak off, sat down across from her. After they began to eat, Christine put down her fork and looked up at Erik. "Erik, I have decided on something."

Erik stopped eating, a look of concern crossing his features. "What have you decided?"

Christine took a deep breath and replied, "I have decided to return to the Opera House. I know that life is dangerous and that there are some evil people out there, but I should not hide down here and not do what I love, singing. I plan on returning on Monday."

Erik nodded. "Alright, if you feel up to it, I will send a letter to the managers telling them of your return."

Christine smiled. "Thank you, Erik, I am glad that you approve."

Erik smiled back. "Of course I approve! Singing is what you love, and I love your singing, it works out perfectly. Besides, the managers were beginning to almost have heart attacks at the prospect of having to find a new Prima Donna. They may even give you a raise for returning."

Christine laughed. "Yes, I believe they would, but I will not accept. Many other people need raises more then I do."

Erik pushed his plate away and stood up. "Now, we should begin practicing. We only have two days to get you ready for the stage again."

"Erik, I have only stopped singing for a week, my voice is not that out of practice."

"I know, but even a week can ruin a voice. Come, we must get to work," Erik explained as he headed towards his organ.

Christine groaned, but stood up. It was now time to return to her singing and get to work.

**Well, you know what to do. REVIEW! In case you did not get it the first time, REVIEW! If you want me to be polite, PLEASE REVIEW! Get the point? Good, now please let me know how this chapter was. I am so glad that I have not been pushing updating this story for weeks. If you have read any of my other stories, then you know how I get sometimes. I hope that will not happen to this story, but if it does, I apologize ahead of time. Until next chapter, Li Li**

**Go to www(dot)thepinkbookworm(dot)com to read my other stories, get writing tips and my thoughts on my writing journey.**


	4. Love meets the funder

**I was on time again! I am so happy with how I did, but I do hope that you ENJOY!**

Christine reclined back into her chair in front of her vanity. Today was opening night for yet another opera and Christine was trying to calm the butterflies that she always got in her stomach before a big show. She glanced over at the clock. She still had two hours to go before she had to go on, and what better way to spend her time then with Erik, who was good at calming her nerves?

Christine grinned and stood up, heading towards her mirror. Just as she reached towards the lever that opened it, a knock was on her door. She sighed and went over to her door. It had better be good!

She found the two managers standing there. "Good evening Christine, um, we were wondering if we could have a word with you about something important."

Christine nodded. "Of course, please, come in."

"Thank you." The two sat down on her couch and Christine took a chair.

"Well," Mousier Joone began, "I do not quite know how to begin. We, well, we have a new man who wishes to fund the Opera House. As you know we have been looking for someone like that for quite some time since Monsieur DeChangy went to America last year."

Christine nodded. "Of course."

Monsieur Lamar leaned forward. "Christine, let me put this to you straight. Our new patron his a Monsieur Phillip Lare. He is one of the richest men in Paris and has graciously decided to fund our Opera House now. However, he is one of the most eligible bachelors in the city and when he was in London, and funded the Opera there, he always had the leading lady, the Prima Donna, on his arm. We fear that he is used to this and that he will want to, um, court you."

Christine felt her eyes widen. Monsieur Joone quickly spoke up before she was able to say anything. "Of course we would never force you to court him, but if he should ask, we were hoping that you would agree to perhaps go to dinner or to a show with him. We do not want you to do anything else, we just want to make sure that he continues to pay for the Opera House."

"Besides," Mousier Lamar injected, "He never stays with one girl more then a week, so you need not worry about that. Please, Christine, would you be willing to humor him and make sure that we get the money that this Opera House desperately needs?"

Christine thought carefully for a moment before answering. "I realize that in order to keep the Opera House open we need someone to sponsor us, and I am more then willing to do anything to keep this place open. However, if this 'relationship' that you want to put me in gets more serious then just dinner or a show, I refuse to have anything more to do with this Mousier Lare and I will stop seeing him immediately, no matter what the cost to the Opera House, is that understood?" The two men nodded vigorously. "Good, then I will see you tonight after the show. Good bye, Monsieurs."

Once the two men had left, Christine leaned back into her chair once again and prayed that she would not have to deal with Mousier Lare anytime soon.

* * *

Christine pushed her way through the crowd of people who were backstage congratulating her on her performance on stage. She smiled and thanked some of the people, but was relieved when she finally made it to her door and began to open it.

But just before she was able to open the door, Monsieur Joone and Lamar stopped her.

"Ah, Christine, that was a wonderful performance. The house was packed and I hear that many of them will be back again to see you soon!" Mousier Lamar explained.

"Yes, this was one of your best performance yet."

"Thank you, Mousier Lamar, Mousier Joone, I appreciate compliments. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and rest, so good night." Christine turned around and began to open her door again, but Mousier Lamar stopped her.

"Actually, Christine, we were hoping that you would be willing to come and meet Mousier Lare, who is waiting to meet you in our office."

Christine groaned inwardly but nodded. "Alright, if you wish."

"Then right this way, Christine." Christine followed Mousier Joone and Lamar followed. But Christine could not help but hear the sound of a frustrated sigh from above her. She glanced up and mouthed "I am sorry" to the darkness, hoping that he would be alright for now.

When they got to the office, Christine walked in and stopped in front of the desk where Mousier Lare stood.

He had dark brown hair and topaz eyes. He smiled and Christine could almost see a glint in his eye. He held his hand out towards Christine and took her hand in his own and kissed it. Christine silently yelled at herself for blushing as his lips met her hand.

"Good evening, Mademoiselle. It is so wonderful to finally meet the incredible Prima Donna of the Opera Populaire."

Christine blushed again. "Why thank you, Mousier, I am flattered. It is wonderful to finally meet the man who will be funding the operas that I stare in."

Mousier Lare laughed. It was a booming laugh, one that made you want to laugh as well. "Well, I am happy about that, but please, call me Phillip. I hope to continue to be impressed in your singing in the future as I was tonight. Can I be promised by that?"

Christine nodded. "Of course, Phillip. My teacher would be horrified if I did not keep up my current singing level."

"Who is your teacher? I would love to meet him."

Christine scrambled to think of an answer. "Um, well, Phillip, he does not like being seen by anyone besides me. He has, issues with people talking to him."

Phillip nodded. "Alright, I can respect someone who is like that. Anyway, I was hoping that next opening night I may be able to see you again, if that would be alright with that?"

Christine slowly nodded. "That is fine with me. Now, if I may, I must go and get some rest. If you all will excuse me."

Phillip opened the door for her. "Of course, I will see you soon. Good night, Mademoiselle."

Christine quickly left and headed to her room, looking forward to seeing Erik after the conversation that had just happened.

**How did you all enjoy it? Please review and let me know so I can work on reading the your minds :) Until next chapter, bye. Li Li**

**Check out my blog for articles and tips on writing from a writer's journey.**


	5. Realization of Love

**Again on time! ENJOY!**

Christine stood in front of her mirror as Meg helped her get dressed for the show. Christine glanced down at Meg as she huffed while buttoning up the back.

"Honestly Christine, I wish you would stop gaining weight. I could barely get the bottom button to stay in place."

Christine turned around and stared at Meg. "What do you mean stop gaining weight? I have gained weight? Since when?"

Meg rolled her eyes. "Christine, you cannot be serious. You must have noticed that your clothes have been getting snugger and we have had to let out a couple seams."

Christine shook her head. "No, I have not noticed. Your mother has never said anything to me about letting out seams in my dresses and my other clothes fit perfectly."

Meg shrugged. "Well, I do not know how you cannot notice, but I would cut back on food a little or pretty soon you will be the size of a normal Prima Donna!"

They both laughed and began to fix Christine's hair, but she could not get rid of the thought that she had gained weight.

She had never been a heavy eater, always eating when hungry and in small portions. She always kept up exercise by going on walks with Erik, so her suddenly gaining quite a bit of weight confused her. Perhaps she was ill and her body was storing up food on its own. She shook her head. That was ridiculous. There was no disease that did that. But what else could it be? The only thing she could possibly think of that could cause weight gain would be...

Christine gasped so suddenly and sat up so abruptly that Meg dropped the hat she was holding and lost hold of the pin that was holding Christine's hair in place. Christine's hair fell down everywhere, but she did not notice. She was much to involved with the thought of what could be causing her to gain weight.

Meg groaned and picked up the hat. "Christine, why must to make this so difficult. I just finished your hair and now we only have 10 minutes to get it back up." When she noticed that Christine was not listening, Meg bent over and looked at Christine. "Christine, is there something wrong? Are you hurt?"

Christine looked up and shook her head. "No, I am fine, wonderful actually. Sorry about the hair, but you can probably just leave it as is, we cannot afford to run late."

Meg shrugged and put the hat on Christine's head. "Alright, but you are taking any blame if they complain. You should get out there now. I will see you tomorrow."

Christine nodded and headed to the stage.

* * *

During the show, Christine once again gave a spectacular performance, but her mind could not get off her sudden realization.

Once the show was done, she quickly thanked everyone and ran towards her door. She had to see Erik now! But, just as she reached her door, Phillip stepped besides her. "Good evening, Christine, it is wonderful to see you again."

Christine almost groaned out loud but managed to silence it and put on a small smile. "Good evening to you too, Phillip. It is good to see you too."

Phillip stood in front of the door, completely blocking Christine from getting to it. "I just wanted to tell you that I was once again impressed by your performance. The angels above are jealous tonight."

Christine felt herself blush slightly and her smile grew. "Why, thank you, that is one of the nicest compliments I have heard all evening. But now, if you will excuse me, I must go and rest for practice tomorrow." Christine tried to walk around him and get to her door, but he did not move.

"Actually, I was wondering if you would like to come with me tomorrow to the art museum. I hear that Paris has some of the finest pieces of art in the world and I was hoping to have a fellow artist to guide me."

Christine longed to see Erik so she quickly nodded. "I would love to, now if you will excuse me."

Phillip stepped away and Christine quickly grabbed the handle. "Tomorrow at, oh, say 3 o'clock then?" Christine nodded again an Phillip smiled. "Wonderful, then I will see you in front of the Opera House?"

"Of course, good night."

"Good night, Christine."

Christine quickly closed her door and ran to her mirror, but just as she reached it a voice from behind her said, "I see the star of the show has fallen from the heavens to see me."

Christine spun around and jumped into Erik's arms, where he had been waiting beside her dressing table. "Oh, Erik, you know that you are the angel that came to see me!"

Erik rolled his eyes. "You may flatter me all you want, but I know the truth. I just hope that my gift is worthy of your performance." Erik held up a rose and put it in her hair. "Now you truly do look like a star from heaven."

Christine blushed. Erik always knew how to make her feel wonderful and not just flattered. Christine opened her mouth to give a compliment back, but her eyes stopped on a large vase of roses that sat on her night stand. "Did you leave those, Erik"

Erik looked at them and shook his head. "No, I did not."

Christine picked up the card and read it. _Dear Christine, your voice was as an angel and I hope that these flowers do not wither in your light. Phillip. P.S. I look forward to going to the art museum with you tomorrow. _Christine wondered how he had known that she would agree to go to the museum, but she did not let that distract her. "Erik, I have something to tell.." Christine's mouth could not longer form words as Erik's lips came upon them. They stood kissing for several minutes before Erik swept her up and opened the mirror, carrying her to the lair.

Christine tried to talk, but soon was swept up in the moment and could not focus as they descended into what some would call darkness but what she called light.

**Well? How did I do? REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Thank you! I realized that the plan I had written a long time ago actually resembles the outline of Young Love in several events that happen. Now I think that I will have to cross out most of the plan and just make this up as I go! Oh well, it is not like I have not done this before. All I can hope for is that this will end up working out and not turn into a repeat of Young Love the original. Wish me luck! Until next chapter, Li Li**

_**HAPPY 5**__**th**__** CHAPTER! I have so glad that we have made it this far without me not updating for weeks and without short chapters! YEAH! Give yourself a pat on the back and some cake (if you have some) and I hope that we will be able to enjoy many more chapters of this story together! THANK YOU FOR READING!**_


	6. Love interrupted, again

**Back again, ENJOY!**

Christine slowly opened her eyes and sighed, contented. She rolled over but found that Erik was not there. She frowned. He knew that she hated waking up to find him not in bed with her, especially after such a wonderful night together.

Christine groaned and got up. But just as she was tying her robe, she felt a wave of nausa come over her and she ran to the wash bowl. After heaving what seemed to be the entire contents of her stomach out, she steadied herself on the table.

Where was Erik?! Normally if she made any noise in their bedroom he would be in here by now. He must be up on the surface, Christine thought. Of course, just when she was experiencing morning sickness he decided not to be there.

Morning sickness. Christine smiled slightly and put her hand on her stomach. Well, at least she was sick for a good reason. But she still needed to tell Erik. She had not been able to get a word in last night and now he was gone this morning.

Christine sighed and walked towards the kitchen. Well, since he was not down here she might as well eat some breakfast while she waited to tell him the good news.

* * *

Christine stood up as the sound of someone rowing into the lair was heard. She ran to the edge where Erik was tying his boat in place and jumped into his arms.

Erik caught his balance just before he fell over and laughed. "Well, I see that someone is overly energetic today. I take it that you have missed me?"

Christine smiled. "Of course I missed you, especially since you left me in bed alone, again. You know I hate that." Christine put on her best pout face bu only resulted in Erik kissing those lips and laughing again.

"Well, my dear, I had to go back up and get some supplies. I noticed that we have been running low on fruit and vegetables and that is not good for a healthy diet."

Christine nodded. "Well, thank you, but I had something important to tell you last night, but you ended up, um, distracting me, and then you left me again this morning."

Erik raised an eyebrow. "Well, what is it? I am here now."

Christine took a deep breath and smiled. "Erik, I am..."

The sound of another boat coming into the lair came from behind them and they both turned to see Madame Giry rowing towards them. Erik quickly pulled the boat in and helped her out. Madame Giry smiled and steadied herself on the shore. "Thank you, Erik." She turned to Christine. "Ah, there you are. I was hoping that I would find you here. I have a message for you from Phillip, I believe is what he wanted to tell me to tell you to call him."

Christine felt like groaning again at being interrupted, but nodded. "Of course, what did he say?"

Madame Giry pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to her. Christine opened it and read the note:

_Dear Christine, I hope that Madame Giry was able to send you this letter. Putting an older lady in charge of such a note worries me, but I suppose that since she is the only one who knows you well, she will have to do. Anyway, I was hoping that you would be so kind as to accompany me to brunch this morning. I know that we are to go to the museum this afternoon, but I found out that there is a wonderful café that we could go to eat and then perhaps we may go shopping afterwards? The Prima Donna always needs new clothes. I hope to see you at 10 o'clock outside the Opera House. Your truly, Phillip._

Christine glanced at the clock and almost fainted.

It was 9:40 already!

Thinking that if she did not attend Phillip would be offended, Christine dashed back to her bedroom and quickly put on the best clothes that she could find. After fluffing her hair and putting on her stockings and shoes, Christine ran back to the boats and got in one, not bothering to explain things to either Erik or Madame Giry.

Erik and Madame Giry both looked at each other in wonder, but when Erik looked down at the floor, he found the note from Phillip and read it, anger beginning to grow within him. He stepped into the other boat and pushed off, intent on a mission of his own.

Madame Giry called after him, but he was not listening. Finally Madame Giry gave up and, with an exasperated sigh, sat down in the living room, mumbling to herself, "How am I supposed to get back up to the surface now?"

* * *

Christine ran as fast as she could to the surface and past the workers who were cleaning the set.

As she ran, Christine could not help but think of how unfair it was that she was still not able to tell Erik about her pregnancy! The biggest news in her life and everyone kept getting in her way. But Christine knew that she had plenty of time to tell Erik, but now she needed to make sure that the new Patron of the Opera House was kept happy.

Unknown to her at that time, but a shadow was following her quickly up in the rafters, a shadow who was extremely upset and wanted answers.

But Christine did not notice that as she ran outside. What she did notice sitting in front of the Opera House caused her to gasp in surprise.

**I know that I had one almost two suspenseful endings, but I could not choose between them. Oh well, I guess not every chapter can be perfect :) Please review and let me know how this chapter was. I am sorry that I was a little late, but I promise that, if nothing else, I will update this story once a week, at the very least. I hope that will work for you, and if not, tuff :) Until next chapter, Li Li**


	7. Arguement of Love

**Hi, back again (on time!) ENJOY!**

Phillip smiled at her as Christine slowly walked towards him, her mouth still hanging open at the sight of him leaning against a beautiful carriage with two white horses in front.

"Do you like it? I always want to treat a lady well and this seemed to be the best I could do in terms of transportation."

Christine nodded and glanced at him. "Yes, it is beautiful. But I thought we would just ride in a regular carriage, nothing so, magnificent as this."

Phillip laughed, shaking his head. "Of course not, I never take public transportation. Besides, I would have that you would be used to this being as you are the Prima Donna and all."

Christine shrugged. "I have ridden in some nice carriages, but this is something entirely new for me."

"Well then, how would you like to try this out?" Phillip helped her into the carriage and climbed in after her, both unaware of the seething phantom that was watching them.

When they arrived at the café, Phillip helped Christine out and offered her his arm. Christine accepted it and they walked into the building.

Once they were seated and had ordered, Christine began to have a strange feeling, as if someone was watching her. She saw Phillip staring out the window, but she still had the feeling that she was being watched. Christine glanced over her shoulder, but did not see anyone. When she turned back, the waiter came with their food the two ate, not talking very much.

After brunch, Phillip took Christine to one of the main art galleries in Paris and browsed the paintings, making small talk as they went. But Christine could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her, but she never saw anyone out of the ordinary. Christine shook her head and went back to looking at feelings, figuring that she must be suffering from pregnancy hormones.

When they were finally done, Phillip took Christine back to the Opera House and escorted her to her bedroom door. Christine was beginning to feel tired from walking so much, but Phillip did not seem to notice.

"I had a wonderful day with you, Christine, thank you."

Christine managed a small smile. "Of course, I also had a wonderful day. Now, I must be going. A Prima Donna's duties are never done." Christine began to open her door, but Phillip stopped her. She looked up at him.

"Please, may I give you a kiss?" Christine felt as though her heart almost stopped, but before she cold respond, Phillip took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it. Christine almost felt like closing her eyes the kiss was so warm, not like Erik's kisses, which were normally slightly on the colder side.

Phillip stood back up and smiled at her. "Good day, mademoiselle, until we meet again." Christine could only nod as Phillip walked away. Once he was out of sight, Christine quickly went into her bedroom and closed the door.

As she leaned against the door frame gathering her thoughts back together, Christine heard a voice come from across the room. "I see that you enjoyed his kiss, although I would say you enjoyed his kiss a little TOO much."

Christine's eyes flew open and she stared at Erik, who was leaning against her dresser. "Erik, what are you doing here?"

Erik raised an eyebrow. "What am I doing here? Well, let me see, I am your husband, thus I am allowed to come into your bedroom, and also as your husband I have the right to know where you are going instead of you suddenly rushing out of our home to go to brunch with your new lover!"

Christine glared at him. "Lover? How could you say that, Erik? You know as well as I do that Phillip is the new patron of the Opera House and that making him angry could jeopardize the entire Opera as we know it!"

"Oh, so it is Phillip now, eh? It seems to be a little too soon to be on a first name basis."

Christine shrugged. "He told me to call him that."

Erik laughed. "Oh, so he did. I wonder why? Perhaps because he is trying to get a little closer to you, hmm?"

Christine shook her head. "It is not like that at all, besides, you know that I would stop any contact with him if it did get to that point."

"Oh yes, just like you stopped talking to Raoul. If I remember correctly I was the one who had to make him leave."

"Erik, enough, that is in the past and I do not like you talking about my friend like that. And besides, what were you doing watching me say good bye to Phillip?"

Erik pretended to be offended as he began to walk towards her. "Now I am the bad guy? Excuse me, but he wanted a kiss, and a kiss is a kiss no matter where he does it. And you seemed to like that kiss a little too much for just being on the hand, if you ask me. And as for watching you, I have the right to make sure you are safe wherever you are alone with a strange man."

Christine gasped. "It was you who was watching me! How could you stalk us like that, Erik?"

Erik glared at her. "Stalk you? I was merely trying to make sure that you were safe, not that you seemed to care. He could have taken you away from Paris and you would have just smiled and nodded at him."

Christine felt tears in her eyes and she had no idea why. "You know that is not true, Erik. I cannot believe that you would think something like that of me. Of course, who am I to say that. I simply tossed you aside like an old rag and not treat you as the loving husband you are." Christine broke down into tears and slid to the floor, weeping profusely.

Erik stared at her and then quickly got down beside her to comfort her. "Christine, it is alright. I am not completely mad at you, I just wanted some revenge for you running away from me this morning. Come now, stop this, you do not need to cry."

Christine wiped her eyes and shrugged. "I know, but I have no idea why I am so sad all of the sudden. It must be because of these hormones that I am experiencing."

Erik frowned. "Why would you be experiencing hormones?"

Christine stopped crying and looked into Erik's eyes. "Erik, I am pregnant."

**Oh, how will Erik react?! I guess you will need to review and wait until next chapter! Until then, Li Li**

**www(dot)thepinkbookworm(dot)com  
**


	8. Love finds out finally

**Hello everyone, I hope that you like this chapter, ENJOY!**

Christine watched as Erik's eyes grew wider and wider. He opened his mouth a couple times and closed it again. Finally he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he said, "Pregnant?"

Christine nodded, nervous at his reaction.

Erik ran a hand through his hair, his eyes going back to their normal shape. "How far are you?"

Christine shrugged. "I do not know. I think about two months, but it has only been a few days since I began to notice the signs."

Erik looked up at her. "And why have you not told me yet if you have known for a few days?"

Christine bit her lip in worry. "I tried to, but every time I was alone with you we always got distracted and then I would be too busy to say anything."

Erik nodded. "I can see that." Erik went silent again and Christine watched him, nervous that he would be upset.

Slowly, a grin began to grow on his face and he laughed, lifting Christine up and twirling her around the room. "A baby! I am going to be a father! Can you believe it, Christine?"

Christine laughed with him and smiled when he put her down. "Yes, I can believe it. Our child will have a wonderful father."

"Only because she has a wonderful mother." Christine raised her eyebrow.

"She? What makes you think that it will be a girl? I think that HE will have a wonderful father."

Erik rolled his eyes. "A boy? Please, Christine, I think that we both know that it will be a girl, a beautiful miniature of her mother with brown hair, gorgeous brown eyes and the voice of an angel."

Christine could not help but roll HER eyes and shake her head. "Well, I think that you know that it will be a handsome son, with the same incredible grey eyes as his father and with a musical talent to match."

Erik's face suddenly went sad. He slowly let go of Christine and sat down on her bed, he head in his hands. "Yes, a perfect miniature, monestrous face and all."

Christine sat down next to him, her hand on his shoulder. "Stop that, our son will not have that kind of face. He will have a beautiful face, trust me. Besides, your face can not be passed down. You do not have to worry about him."

Erik stood up and began to pace the room, anger slowly beginning to build with in him again. "And what if he does have my face, Christine, what then?"

Christine stood up and stopped him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Then he will be the most loved boy anywhere on this planet. He will be loved for who he is, not for his face, and you and I both will make certain that he lives the most normal life possible, alright?"

Erik sighed and nodded, his anger slowly receding. "Alright, I suppose you are correct about that. I will make absolutely certain that my son does not grow up the same way I did."

Christine smiled and snuggled against Erik. "Good, I am glad that you see it that way"

The two continued to stand there, just enjoying each other's warmth and presence.

Suddenly, Erik looked down at Christine and grinned. "You know, now that you have told me this wonderful news, I think that it is time we go home and celebrate this new part of our lives."

Christine stared at him. "What do you mean 'celebrate'? I thought we did celebrate."

Erik leaned down and kissed her. Slowly the kiss deepened and Erik picked her up in his arms and opened the mirror. Christine giggled against his lips.

"Oh, that kind of celebrate. Alright, but first you have to agree that we are having a son and not a daughter."

Erik stopped kissing her and glared slightly. "Christine..."

She laughed and continued to kiss his neck. "I am just kidding." Erik smiled and re closed the mirror when they were in the tunnel. "But I still think that it is a boy."

The sound of Erik groaning was the last thing heard before Christine laughed and silenced him with a kiss as he carried her home.

**Well, how did you like this one? Since my mind reading and teleporting device it in the shop right now, I need you guys to review and tell me what you think. THANK YOU! Until next chapter, Li Li**

**P.S. If anyone can tell me where the banter between Christine and Erik about the baby's gender is from, you will have yourself a hint about the baby! He he, I am so evil. But if you can not get it, you will have to wait until I tell you in the future. BYE!**

**P.S.S Oh, by the way, I need you guys to vote on my poll. I want to write another fan fiction story, but I do not know which one I should do next. **

**I have a pretty well thought out Peter Pan story, but I do not know if that would be popular.**

**I would also like to write a Twilight story, but I would need to gather my thoughts out.**

**Since I have not done a t.v. show story, maybe I could do either Dukes of Hazzard or Doctor Who since I like both and I could get a story put together pretty quick.**

**What do you guys think? I just want to know what YOU (the reader) would like to read, thus a poll (I love that new feature!) Thank you and I will close it at some point, so vote soon!**

**Also, go check out my blog on writing tips, bok reviews and other writing and reading adventures in the life of a teen author, complete with all my other fan fiction stores. www(dot)thepinkbookworm(dot)com**


	9. Love discusses things

**Hello! ENJOY!**

Christine felt the bare spot next to her even before she opened her eyes. Groaning, she opened them and looked over to Erik's side of the bed. Empty. Christine glared at the now cold spot where Erik had been, but before she could get too angry she felt a wave of nausea come over her, causing her to leap up and run to the wash basin to throw up.

After she had emptied her stomach completely, she put on a robe and started to head to the kitchen. But she was stopped on the way by Erik carrying a large tray of assorted breakfast items.

Erik, upon seeing her out of bed, quickly set the large tray down on the night stand and picked Christine up, carefully laying her on the bed again. "What are you doing up? A woman in your condition should be in bed resting and not over doing it."

Christine folded her arms across her chest and glared. "Well, you were not in bed again. I think I have told you, oh, about five hundred times that I HATE it when I have to wake up to you not here. And what do you mean 'condition?"

"Sorry about not being in bed, but as for your condition, you are pregnant, which means that you are not only having to take care of yourself but a new life, too. I would kill myself if either you or the child became ill or were injured. I plan on taking care of this child and the one who is carrying and making sure that BOTH are healthy." Erik replied as he pulled the covers back up over her and sat down next to her.

Christine smiled and gave Erik a quick kiss on the cheek. "Well, I do appreciate your efforts and the fact that I have such a loving husband, but you do not need to take things so seriously! I will be fine for many months. I am not even showing yet, and I know women who have worked right up until the day they gave birth. So please do not worry over me. I will be fine. Besides, what do you want me to do? Stay in bed for nine whole months?"

Erik shrugged and picked up a fork with some egg on it. "That would be nice, but I have the feeling that keeping you in bed for any amount of time would be like forcing a wild horse to stay tied up in a stable!"

Christine laughed. "Good, then we are in agreement. What are you doing?" She asked as Erik held the egg up to her mouth.

Erik rolled his eyes. "I am taking care of you, now eat up. You need to make sure that you keep up your strength."

"But Erik, I thought we just talked about..." Christine was cut off when Erik stuck the food into her mouth. When she had swallowed, she tried again but Erik fed her a piece of bacon.

Knowing that she was not going to win this small battle, Christine leaned back and let Erik feed her.

After spending the morning getting fed and then helped with dressing, Christine reclined on one of the chairs in the main room, listening to Erik practice a piece of music.

Suddenly, a thought came to her. "Erik?" He stopped and looked back at her. "What are we going to do about the Opera House when I am too pregnant to preform? I have kept up the masquerade of not being married, but they will not let me sing when they find out that I am having a child."

Erik was deep in thought for a minute before he responded. "I suppose you will have to quit once you are showing. That is all."

"But what about after the baby is born? Will I go back?"

Erik rubbed his chin, the way he always did when he got worried. "Well, I do not want you to be preforming when you have the baby. Firstly, the managers will get suspicious about you constantly going down here and about your vacation when you are nearing your due date. And second, I do not know if I can care for a child on my own, with you being gone for the entire day."

Christine nodded. "That would get difficult, and besides, I want to spend as much time as possible with the baby. But the reason I was asking is because I know that you love it when I am on stage and I was wanting to make sure that you are not upset when I can no longer perform."

Erik stood up and kneeled down next to Christine, taking her hand. "Yes, I do love to see you on stage, with the audience in awe at the talent that you and I created. I love to see the thunderous applause at the women I love. I love to see the men fall for you while I know that I am the only man you will ever love. I love to see those things, but this," He place his hand on her stomach, "is much more important to me then any of that. I have always wanted a family, a group of people who I love and who love me for all that I am. I never had that and for the longest time I thought that I never would, but then you came along and gave me a chance at something that the world denied me. I would never put that in jeopardy just to see you on stage in front of complete strangers. Never. Please understand that, Christine."

Christine nodded, tears forming in her eyes. After sharing a brief kiss, Erik went back to his organ and pulled out a piece of music. "But that does not mean that you should ever stop singing. That is what I enjoy more then anything. Let us practice serenading our child with this piece." And so they began.

**How was it? I am so happy that I was on time again, but we should not jinx it or I might not update for weeks. Please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Oh, and REVIEW! But do not forget to vote on my poll. I will be closing in sometime next month, so you have plenty of time, but still VOTE and REVIEW! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	10. Love enjoys a laugh

**Hope you like this new chapter! On time again, so ENJOY!**

Christine sighed, content. She was currently sitting in front of her vanity brushing her hair.

After spending the day singing with Erik and "serenading their baby" as he called it, Erik had ordered that she go to their bedroom and rest her voice. So she was getting ready for dinner by getting her hair brushed after taking a bath. Erik had said that he would make a special, healthy dinner for her and so she wanted to look pretty for him because he was doing all this for her.

Suddenly she heard a crash from the kitchen and Erik curse loudly. She quickly stood up and rushed to the kitchen to find the funniest sight that she had ever seen in her life: Erik standing in the middle of the kitchen covered form head to toe in flour, an egg was running down his arm and he had milk soaking into his clothing.

Christine stared at him in shock, but once that wore off she burst out laughing. Erik was surprised to see her, but then he began to glare at her. She knew that he was angry at her but she could not stop laughing no matter how hard she tried. She slid to the ground, still laughing, as Erik just stood there in all his flour-covered goodness.

This scene went on for a few minutes until Erik, still glaring, sat down on the floor. But unfortunately he sat down right on an egg and Christine just burst out into a new fit of laughter at the sound of crack and ooz from under Erik's behind.

Finally Christine stopped laughing and, feeling sorry for him, crawled over to him and put her hand on his arm.

"Sorry about that, but I could not help it." Erik did not answer. "Oh come on Erik, you have to admit, you do look a little, humorous."

Erik looked down at his shirt and sighed, nodding. "I suppose so." He heaved another sigh and looked around the kitchen and Christine followed his gaze.

The kitchen was covered in flour and eggs were dripping off the counter. Christine tried to find the source of all this mess but was unable to find anything to blame this on. "Erik, what happened?"

Erik groaned. "I was trying to make some bread and I had put the milk in the bowl but I needed to go into the storage room and get some more flour and eggs. I went there but as I was coming out I tripped and fell. The flour bags burst open and sent flour everywhere and the eggs broke and covered everything in yellow dots. I stood up and was surveying the damage when you came in."

Christine giggled a little and Erik turned back to glare at her again. Christine shook her head. "Sorry, it is just that, well, imagining you falling with flour and egg all over you is quite a hilarious image."

Erik rolled his eyes. "I will never understand your odd sense of, um, humor. Now, how are we going to clean this mess up?"

Christine smiled and stood up. "I suppose we get out a mop and rag and get to work. Perhaps we will even get done in time for dinner."

Erik stood up next to her and shook his head. "No, I will clean this up, you go rest. The whole reason I was making you dinner was to help you relax and I will not have you have to clean up MY mess, especially in that outfit."

Christine looked down at her silk dress and shrugged. "Oh well, it is not like you will not replace this soon anyway. Now come on, we have work to do."

Christine dragged Erik towards the storage closet, ignoring his displeased look to go and start cleaning.

**Hi everyone! I hope that you liked this chapter but, you know the drill, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! THANK YOU! Also, about my poll, I have a request PLEASE VOTE ON IT! I have a three way tie happening and I only have four options with only two people who have voted (and yes, there is a two choice option on there)! I know that there is more then two people who read this story, so shape up and VOTE! **

**The whole reason I have the poll is for you guys to help me make a decision, not for me to have to make it anyway. I will close the poll on November 8, so you guys have a few days. If I can get one answer, great, but if it turns into a two way tie then I will post another poll with only those two options. But if you guys could vote and not have me do that, that wold be great too! :) **

**So, on your To Do List: Review and vote on poll. Sorry about the nagging, but sometimes I think people need a swift kick in the behind to get things done. THANK YOU for everything you guys do now anyway (encouragement)! Until next chapter, Li Li.**

**P.S. Oh, a little incentive, if I do not have a option chosen by the eighth, then I MAY not update for a while. Or maybe not, who knows (laughs evilly). Just joking (or am I?).**

**P.S.S. HAPPY 10****th**** CHAPTER! You guys have put up with me for so long and all I can say is BIG thanks!!! I hope that we will enjoy many more chapters after this. And I am so impressed with myself that I have not have deviated from my plan for updating. I think that this is the first story I have ever written without having at least an update that took at least a week or two. I am so happy and I bet you guys are SUPER happy with that. (Throws confetti) Go get yourself a cookie in celebration, just make sur you remember that it is kind of from me, in a weird sort of way :). Li Li**


	11. A Name for Love?

**ENJOY!**

The sweet smell of spaghetti and meatballs filled the air as Christine watched Erik in the kitchen.

After "The Incident" (as they were now calling it) Christine had helped Erik clean the kitchen and make it presentable again. Erik, on the other hand, had only changed his clothes and rubbed a wash cloth over his face and arms, but Christine could still see flour on his toes and bits of egg still stuck in his hair.

But, Erik had refused to take a bath while Christine made dinner, insisting that he was still going to make her a feast fit for kings before the day was gone, so Christine had settled down (at Erik's orders, may I add) to just watching him from the couch, her mouth beginning to water at the smell of the meatballs.

Thankfully, before Christine had to grab the noodles right out of the pan, Erik called her for dinner and the couple sat down to enjoy the meal that had taken a lot longer and a lot more work then either of them had anticipated to create.

After Christine had ravished the food in front of her and had settled back to let her food simmer in her stomach, she decided to ask Erik a question that had been bothering her of late. "Erik," he looked up at her, letting her know that she had his full undivided attention, "What do you want to name the child?"

Erik put his fork down and leaned back. "Well, I must admit that I had not given it much thought. I figured that you would have more then enough name ideas in mind."

Christine smiled. "I do have a couple, but I just wanted to know what your thoughts were, since this is your child too."

Erik clasped his hands in front of him in deep thought. "I really have no idea. I have never named anything before, so I would never know where to begin. What are your ideas?"

Christine thought for a second. "Well, if it is a boy, which it will be, I think that Stephen would be a nice name. Or Jonathan. Or Steven. Erik would also be a good name."

Erik shook his head. "No, I do not want to pass anything down to my children that might make their lives as horrible as mine. Name included. But besides, naming our DAUGHTER a boy's name may seem a bit odd to people. What are your ideas for a girl?"

Christine stuck her tongue out at him before answering. "Well, IF it is a girl, I think that Samantha or Hope or Anna would be wonderful names."

"How about Angel?"

Christine shook her head. "No, that is your name for me, and having two Angels around the house might get confusing really fast."

Erik shrugged and contemplated. Finally, he looked up and suggested, "How about Rose?"

Christine gave some thought to this name. A smile slowly grew on her features as she answered, "I think that would be a the perfect name for a girl. But what are your thoughts on boy names?"

Erik leaned back again and took a look of deep thought. "I do not like Stephen. Sounds like a name for a priest. Jonathan sounds too stuck up to me. Steven sounds like a fisherman's name. And you know how I feel about Erik."

Christine pouted and put her arms on the table. "Fine then, what DO you like as our son's name?"

Erik meditated on this question for so long that Christine began to wonder if he had gone to sleep already. But just as she was going to ask if he was alright, Erik spoke in barely a whisper, "Royden."

Christine frowned. "Royden? What does that mean?"

"It means 'from the royal hill'" Erik explained.

Christine ran this name through her head a few times before answering. "I like it. It sounds interesting and different, yet sweet at the same time. Royden Erik Destler."

"Or Rose Christine Destler."

Christine rolled her eyes. "Believe what you want, Erik, but I know what is going on inside my womb more then you do. Now," Christine pushed her chair back and stood up, "I do believe that since we have now discussed such pressing matters that you need to take a bath and get cleaned up, and no buts about it."

Erik heaved an exaggerated sigh and stood up beside her. "Oh alright, fine. I will take a bath. But I do believe that you deserve a relaxing soak after such an eventful day more then I do."

Christine grinned at him. "Well, I guess we will have to take a bath together, dear husband." She quickly gave him a kiss before skipping off to the bathroom, with him right at her heels.

**So, like it or love it or hate its guts? I made this chapter a tiny bit longer then last time, and I updated on time (yeah for me!). Oh, and how did you all like Rose and Royden? Rose was obviously because of all the roses that Erik gives Christine and because of all the love that is associated with them. Royden I had to actually look up in my Character Naming Source book under French names, but I think that it sounds cool. What are your thoughts?**

**By the way, I am going to give you guys a little hint about the baby: The banter in this chapter and in the previous chapters are inspired by the (bleep) movies. Nah, maybe I will not give things away so soon. The clue is so obvious that I would hate to ruin the story so soon. So I guess you guys will have to suffer longer. **

**Oh, and I want to explain some things about this story just to clean any confusion out there: The reason that the first chapter (with Christine almost getting raped and all) is so random and does not seem to connect with the rest of the story is because I had a plan for this story that had that scene in the beginning. Well, I realized that the rest of my plan was WAY to much like the first Young Love, so I scrapped most of it and twisted things around. But, I have figured out a great reason as to how the almost raping connects to the rest of the story: If Christine had not been almost raped, then she would have not gotten so frightened that she came down to the lair with Erik, where she (I think?)got pregnant.**

**Does that make any sense? No? Oh well, I tried. **

**And, now for the news that you probably wanted to know from the beginning: The results of the poll are in. The next story that I will be writing is (ERROR). Sorry about that, but we have a TIE between Peter Pan and Twilight. So, you know what that means: a new poll to vote on!!! I am actually leaning towards Peter Pan, but if you guys want Twilight I can deliver. Just let me know either way by November 15 and I will get started as soon as possible.**

**Okay, wow, REALLY long Author note, but I had a lot of things to cover. So just REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and vote on my poll and we can all move on with our lives.**

**Until next chapter, Li Li**

www(dot)thepinkbookworm(dot)com


	12. Where to have Love

**Hello everyone, I hope that you like this new addition to my story. ENJOY!**

Christine snuggled into her robe even more, enjoying the warmth surrounding her. Erik stood in the kitchen chopping up some fruits for a type of dessert for Christine. After the bath, the two had emerged back into the main room to relax and just enjoy the warm fire.

But as she watched Erik, Christine could not help but think of some questions that needed answering before the child was born. "Erik?" He glanced at her and then went back to chopping.

"Yes, Christine?"

Christine took a deep breath. "I was thinking, we need to decide on some things before the baby is born."

Erik did not turn around. "What sort of things?"

"Well, like who will help me give birth? We need to find a midwife to help me, one whom we could trust enough to maybe even bring down here if need be."

Erik shrugged. "We can find someone, if you need to. I am sure that we could find one that we could either trust enough to bring down here or even just bring you to her. What is the problem there?"

Christine bit her lip a little before answering. "Well, I was actually thinking that perhaps we could find a place in Paris to live in until the baby is born so we can just bring the midwife there to have the child."

Erik stopped chopping, thinking. "You want to move up to the surface?"

Christine nodded. "Yes, but just while I am pregnant, then we can come back down here after the baby is born. What do you think?"

Erik was silent for a moment, but then he began chopping again. "Well, I do not want to go up there. I have never been out of the Opera House since I was young, and I know that a man walking around with a white mask on would seem a little odd to people. The midwife may even be frightened of me, but I suppose I can just stay out of her sight while you give birth. I do not want to move anywhere, but if you think that it is best for you and the baby, then alright, I will get things settled."

Christine stood up and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you Erik, that would be wonderful. I just want to make sure that the midwife will not have to be snuck down here or threatened if she does not keep out secret. I promise that we will come back here after the baby is born and we can move on with our lives."

Erik turned around in her arms and gave her a kiss, wrapping his own arms around her. "Well, I am glad that you are glad, that is why I am here." The couple stood snuggling for a bit until Erik lifted his head and said, "Now I have my own question to you: should we tell Madame Giry about the child?"

Christine's eyebrows scrunched together. "Why of course we will, why would we not? She has been a like a mother to you and me since we were young and I could never imagine not telling her that we are going to be parents."

Erik smiled. "Good, I was just making sure. I know that she has a special place in our hearts, but I wanted to make sure that you still held here there. But when should we tell her? Should be tell her now, when you are farther along or when the baby is even born?"

Christine smiled. "Well, I suppose we could tell her now, but we can always wait to tell her later, when we are not busy." Christine stood on her toes and pressed her lips to Erik's, but before they could get to far, and voice interrupted them.

"Am I interrupting something? And tell who what?"

The two spun around to face the one person who was not afraid to walk in on them showing their love for on another.

**I bet you guys know who the mysterious person is, but I wanted to add at least a little suspense to the end of the story. You know what to do: REVIEW and tell me if the story was good or if it stinks.**

**Alright, now for the big news. I closed the poll early so I could give you guys the results now. Thankfully we no longer have a tie, so without further ado, the next story that I will write will be........... Twilight! **

**The funny thing is that I actually have a better idea for Peter Pan, but I can always write that later. The Twilight story will be based on Quil/Claire romance. None of the stories about them that I have read have not touched on one area that I am most curious about: the two getting married. We all know that they will eventually, but no one really writes about it. So I will take the sort of challenge and write a new view of Quil and Claire getting married. Hopefully you will all enjoy it and I will get new fans in the Twilight section.**

**And for those of you who wanted Robin Hood, do not worry, I will have such a settled out plan that I will write that one as soon as possible. But I will NOT have three stories going at once. Been there, done that, none of my stories got updated. So, be patient and you will be awarded.**

**Now, enough notes, REVIEW! And until next chapter, Li Li**


	13. Love is interrupted, but in a good way

**Hi, ENJOY! Still on time, kind of!**

Erik cleared his throat as the person approached the couple. "Ah, Madame Giry, how are you this fine day?"

Madame Giry glared at him slightly as she walked off the boat and towards the couple. "Quite alright, Erik, but you did not answer my question: What is that you are hiding from someone?"

Christine smiled as she stepped forward. "Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you our exciting news. Madame Giry, I am pregnant."

Madame Giry's eyes widened so much that Christine wondered if they would pop out of her head. "You, you are with child?" Christine nodded. A smile broke out on Madame Giry's face and she pulled Christine into a hug. "That is so wonderful! Finally, you and Erik will be able to enjoy a child of your very own. Oh, this is one of the happiest days of my life. But, when were you originally going to tell me this news?"

Christine looked down. "Well, we were going to tell you soon, but we wanted to, um, spend some time together down here before going back up to the surface. But then you came down here so that interrupted our plans."

Erik stepped forward. "Why are you down here, anyway?"

Madame Giry stepped back from Christine. "I am here to give you some fresh baked bread and let you know that people are getting worried about where you could be, Christine, especially Monsieur Lare. He is practically in a state of panic over where you could have gone. I told him and the managers that you are away at your other home relaxing before the big shows of the season are to start. But Christine, they expect you to be on stage for rehearsals tomorrow or you will give them all heart attacks."

Erik wrapped his arms around Christine. "Do you think that she should? I do not want her to overexert herself performing."

Madame Giry nodded. "I think that she will be fine, as long as she gets plenty of rest and good food. I believe that she should be fine until about five or six months, then she will begin to show through her clothes. And at that time I would not like to see her on stage almost every day singing and dancing like mad. She must be well rested around the time the baby will be born." Madame Giry turned back to Christine. "How far along are you?"

Christine shrugged her shoulders. "I think maybe a month or two but I am not sure. The morning sickness began a couple weeks ago, but other then that I cannot tell how far along I am."

Madame Giry put her hands to her lips in thought. "Then that would make it about two months along. Well, then we have seven months before your little bundle of joy makes its appearance into this world. Do you have anyone chosen for a midwife yet?"

The couple shook their heads. "No, we have not yet chosen a midwife, but it will be hard considering that the women must be able to come down here and keep our secret if she has to. Do you have any suggestions?" Erik asked.

Madame Giry shook her head. "No, I am afraid not. I know only a few midwives, but I would not trust them to keep this place a secret or your face, Erik."

Christine spoke up. "Would you do it then? Be my midwife?"

Madame Giry once again showed a face of shock, but she smiled. "I would love to. This is such an important part of your life and I would be honored to be a part of it. But I expect you to keep yourself healthy, and Erik, I must warn you that she will need food at all points of the day when the food cravings kick in here real soon."

Erik nodded. "Of course, anything for Christine."

Madame Giry smiled. "Good, but Christine, would you please bring my bread up to the kitchen while I talk to Erik?"

Christine nodded. "Of course."

While she was gone, Madame Giry pulled Erik off to the side and said, "Erik, I must tell you that soon the hormones will kick in and Christine will not always act like herself anymore. Being pregnant can make a women crave odd foods, ache everywhere and go from being happy one minute to being furious at you, all within minutes. You must understand that Christine will be different and not to worry if she acts a little, strange sometimes. Understand?" Erik nodded. "Good, now, how about some fresh bread, you look like you could use it."

Erik began to follow Madame Giry towards the kitchen where Christine was slicing the delicious bread into pieces for them all.

**Good chapter, yes, no, let me know! PLEASE REVIEW! Also, I have not yet started my Twilight story, but I have been busy but perhaps next week at some point, hopefully. But I still need to figure out a plot and storyline so I am not just flailing around in the dark like I have to do on some stories. Anyway, until next chapter, Li Li**


	14. Love Begins to go Crazy

**Hey everyone, here is a Thanksgiving present (feast, gift,?)for you, ENJOY!**

Erik waved good bye to Madame Giry as she left on the boat. After she was out of sight, Erik sighed, happy.

He was going to be a father to the child his perfect wife was going to have. He had never thought that his life would be as perfect as it was now. Born with a severe disfigurement and forced to live in a cage, he had always thought that maybe just death would be his only escape from pain. But then Madame Giry had come and rescued him from that horrible place and had showed him the motherly kindness he had never known. But he had still felt an empty place in his heart from a love that no one else could fill. Then, Christine came along and turned his entire world upside down. He was at first incredibly angry at himself for forcing her to marry him, a monster, but she had taken to it with what seemed to be a grace and kindness that he had never thought anyone could pocess. And, with her help, he had realized true love and had been able to move past his face and just be who he was.

Erik grinned. And now he had created a child from this incredible love which would be a monument to it forever. Now he only had to wait until that moment.

He went back into the kitchen to find Christine. He found her standing, with her back to him, in front of the counter eating something. "Christine?" He asked.

She spun around to face him, holding a pickle in one hand, a carrot in the other and with chocolate frosting all over her face. "Erik! I thought you were still down with Madame Giry." Erik did not answer, only staring at what seemed to be an odd combination of food. Christine grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about the mess, I all of the sudden got really hungry. You would not believe how good pickles and carrots taste in chocolate frosting!" Christine gave him a quick smile and turned back to her food.

Erik slowly turned around and headed towards his music room. Madame Giry had said that odd food cravings would be expected, but he assured himself that it would not get too bad. So Christine ate carrots and pickles in chocolate was weird, she would move on. The fact that she hated pickles was not the point.

* * *

"Erik!"

Erik sat up straight on his organ bench, pushing the composition he had been working on away. He ran to their bedroom and found Christine curled up in a ball on the bed. He sat down next to her. "What is it, Christine? Is it the baby? Are you alright?"

Christine lifted her tear streaked face and smiled, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Oh, I am so glad to see you! I thought you had left me here alone and I would have to fend for myself."

Erik cradled her in his arms. "Oh Christine, you know I would never leave you, ever. I promised you that I would stay with you until death do we part, and I would never take back that promise."

Christine lifted her face up, worried. "But we never said any vows, so you never did make that promise!" A fresh new batch of tears started rolling down her face as she wailed.

Erik quickly replied, "I know that we never said any vows, but it was an unspoken vow, it was on the marriage certificate," He lifted her face to look into his eyes, "And I am making that promise now. Christine Daae Destler, I will never, ever, for the rest of our days leave you. Death will be the only thing that will break us, and even then we will meet again in Heaven. I vow that forever because I love you."

Christine smiled. "Oh, Erik, you have no idea how much that means to me! Thank you so much. I am sorry that I ever doubted you."

Erik kissed her and brushed her cheek. "I know, you were just afraid. Now, did you need anything else?"

Christine frowned again. "Well, the reason I called you was because I dropped my hairbrush behind my dresser when I was brushing my hair to make myself pretty for you and I was afraid that you would be upset with me if I tried to move it by myself you would be angry with me. But now I upset you with my insane worry!" The tears began once again and Erik could only cradle her in his arms.

"It is alright, Christine. You were right to call me to move the dresser. And I am not angry with you, I would never be angry with you over something so small and stupid." Erik lifted her face and brushed the tears away, smiling at her. "Now, how about the hairbrush?"

After Erik moved the dresser(which proved to be incredibly heavy) and retrieved the hairbrush (which kept moving just out of his reach when he brushed his fingers against it) he finally moved the dresser back and turned to give Christine her hairbrush back. But what he found was her sleeping figure on the bed, a look of complete serenity on her features.

Erik placed the hairbrush on the dresser and headed back to his music room. That was an odd wave of emotions from Christine, but Madame Giry had also warned him about that. So what if he had an ache in his back from moving the dresser, at least Christine was resting again. And at least the emotions would not get any worse, or at least not bad enough to make her kill him. He hoped.

**Well, was that good or what? No, yes, let me know! Oh, and you need to send me reviews because tomorrow (Thanksgiving) is my birthday! Yes, another year older, but I am still a kid inside (although an odd one lol). So, please review as a gift to me, if that will get you to review. **

**Now, for the bad news. I have been doing some thinking about Twilight and I have decided NOT to write a Twilight story. I know that you will hate me for that, but see my parents never liked me reading Twilight since the beginning, but they allowed it. But now with the movie and all the obsession (it IS about vampires after all, something I do not believe in), I have decided just to start getting away from my kind of own obsession over it. I will write what I already had a plan for, Peter Pan. I know that you will probably think that it is stupid, but it is just something that God has put on my heart which I will follow.**

**So, moving past the boring bad news, I will try to write Peter Pan like next week. So again, Please Review! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	15. Love is Back

**Sorry, I am a little late, but ENJOY!**

Erik peered out of Christine's door, checking to make sure that the coast was clear. "All right, you can go."

Christine rolled her eyes as she moved past him. "Honestly, Erik, you do not need to watch me like a hawk. I am sure that Phillip has not arrived yet and..."

Erik raised an eyebrow. "So he is still 'Phillip'?"

"...and I sure that he will only welcome me back, ask where I have been and then move on with his day." Christine continued.

Erik sighed. "Fine, but if he follows you or bugs you too much, just call for me and I will hurry to you as fast as I can. Now, you had better get going before people begin to panic again."

Christine began to move past him, but suddenly he pulled her back in and held her with his arm against the door. "What now!?" She asked angrily.

Erik ignored her as he tried to listen. Suddenly Meg poked her head into the room. "Christine? Are you in here? I heard voices."

Christine pushed Erik back into the shadow of the door and came out into the light. "Meg! I am so glad to see you!"

The two young ladies quickly shared a hug before Meg pulled back. "Oh Christine, everyone was so worried when you did not show up to practice for several days! We thought for sure something had happened to you, but Mother kept telling everyone that you had taken a long deserved break to rest your voice and get ready for the next round of shows."

Christine smiled. "Well, thank you for your concern, and everyone else's, but I did take a long needed rest. Sorry that I did not send notice about it sooner."

Meg frowned. "Well, I am glad that you are alright, but Mousier Lare was in an absolute panic. He kept shouting at the managers about them not keeping a better eye on their actors and then he kept searching for you all throughout the Opera House. He even wanted to go down to the catacombs to see if you were there, but Mother convinced him that it was foolhardy and that you would never go down there."

Christine began to get concerned. "So he has been that worried about me, then?"

Meg nodded. "Oh, absolutely. He even wanted to get Mother fired because she would not give anymore details to him then that you were away on a break. But thankfully the mangers were able to convince him that she was an invaluable dance instructor and that without her all would be lost. But now that you are here, he can relax and not be so angry all the time."

Christine pursed her lips in worry. "Of course, I will have to do that. Where is he now?"

Meg shrugged. "I have no idea, last time I heard he was in his office on the other side of the building. If I were you, I would go see him first before you practiced, but I fear that Mother will be upset if either of us is late, so come on, we have to go."

Christine hurried after Meg, with a short smile at Erik as she passed, and headed to the stage. When she got there, all the ballet rats, musicians and other actors ran up to her and began to welcome her back, asking where she had been and why she had not told them anything. She thanked them all for the welcome, saying that she had been on a last minute vacation that had not left her any time to notify anyone except Madame Giry. Once the commotion had settled, they all set to work practicing, with Christine not acting as though she had missed several practices.

Above her head, Erik stood watching her sing with a proud smile on his face. Suddenly, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and he quickly rushed over to see what it was.

It was Mousier Lare and a man whom Erik did not recognize standing at the side of the stage watching. Erik leaned closer to hear better as the two men began to talk.

"So, which one is she?" The unknown man asked.

"Which one do you think? The girl at the front singing. Her name is Christine."

"Ah, she is a beauty, I would give her a second look for sure, especially with that nice backside of hers." Erik clenched his hands into fists, wanting so badly to kill that man right then and there. Mousier Lare glared at him.

"I know, but you do not need to be to vulgar. Now, back to business."

The man nodded. "When do you want me to do it? Tonight?"

Mousier Lare shook his head. "No, that is too soon. We need to approach this with the most care. I think that the best time will be at the New Year's Masquerade Ball. No one will be able to recognize anything and no one will care."

The man's eyes widened. "But that is over 7 months away! I would think that you would want to do it sooner then that."

Mousier Lare shrugged, his arms folding across his chest as he watched Christine. "I do, but timing and patience is key. 7 months will give me plenty of time to put her mind at ease, and then everything will be easy from then on. Now, I will not see you until just before the ball, so try to stay out of trouble."

"Yes sir."

"Good, now leave before someone sees you with me."

The man quickly left and Mousier Lare, with one last glance at Christine, walked away, heading to the door to leave.

Erik's mind moved quickly trying to piece everything together. What would those men want with Christine? And what did they plan to do at the New Year's Ball? So many questions, but all Erik knew was that he had to be extra careful to watch Christine, for both of their's sake.

**Ooooh, what is this new mystery? Actually, I have no idea either. I just made this up as I was writing to make the chapter longer, but I am sure that it will turn out to be something big. Again, please REVIEW and tell me if you liked, loved or hated with a passion this chapter. Oh, and YAY for me for this longer chapter! I have not written Peter Pan yet (I have been SUPER busy) but HOPEFULLY I will have something written by next week. I will let you know when I update this story. Until next chapter, Li Li**

**P.S. HAPPY 15****th**** CHAPTER!!! We made it! Thank you to all my loyal reviewers and fans, even the ones who do not review (hint to please do!) And I hope that we will make it though maybe another 15 chapters. THANK YOU!!!**


	16. Love Argues

**Hello people of the world! ENJOY!**

Erik continuously watched Christine the rest of the day during rehearsals. He never let her out of his sight, even when she went to the dressing room to change.

Once rehearsals were done, Christine went to her room, refusing many invitations to go and eat dinner with people to celebrate her return. Erik walked out from the shadows once she had closed her door and quickly led her to the mirror. Christine pulled her hand away and stared at him.

"Erik, what is the matter? I know that you want to get home as soon as possible, but I need to change and make sure that everything is in order for tomorrow. Now settle down and wait for a few minutes."

Erik shook his head. "No, Christine, we must leave NOW. I do not want to wait up here for very long. Now come."

He tried to grab her hand again, but she stepped out of his reach. "No, I need to get things ready. You have to wait all the time, what makes this night any different?"

Erik began to pace. "I just want you to be safe. I overheard something this morning between your precious Phillip and another man."

Christine frowned. "What did they say?"

"Well, they started out by complimenting on your, um, 'backside' and then went on to talk about how they are going to do something at the New Year's ball, something that requires you to get comfortable and feel safe so they can do whatever it is. I just want to get you as faraway from that man as I can."

Christine's eyes widened, but then her face changed into a scowl. "You just made that up, Erik. I know that you do not like Phillip, but he would never do anything to harm me. You just want me to hate him as much as you do!"

"I would love for you to see him as the jerk he is, but I did not make this up!" Erik shouted. "I am doing this to protect you, Christine, you have to believe me."

Christine shook her head. "No, I know how you work Erik, and this is exactly the kind of trick that you would pull to make me get on your side of things, well, I am not falling for it." Christine turned her back to him and began to fiddle with the items on her dresser.

Erik sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Christine..."

Christine jerked her shoulder away from him. "I think that you should leave now, Erik. I do not think that I can put up with your lying right now. You can come back when you want to tell the truth."

Erik opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, knowing that when she was like this there was no way to talk to her. He turned around and left through the mirror.

As he headed down the tunnel, his mind began to wander to what the two men were talking about. What could they possibly want to do to Christine so far away? Maybe they wanted to kidnap her and get some ransom money. He shook his head. The unknown man fit that picture of a desperate man in need of cash, but Mousier Lare had enough money.

Maybe they wanted to force Christine to marry Mousier Lare. That made Erik clench his fist in anger at the very thought of another man loving HIS Christine, but the idea soon dissipated when he realized that they would not need to force her to do anything and would not need to plan so profusely.

Or maybe...But a shout from behind him suddenly broke his train of thought. "Erik!" It was Christine! Erik quickly spun around and ran back to the mirror, hoping that Christine was not hurt or worse.

When he reached the mirror, he found Christine trying to look in while shouting, "Erik! Come back! I did not mean for you to leave like that. Erik, please come back, I need you." Christine slowly sunk to the floor, tears rushing down her cheeks in rivers.

Erik quickly opened the mirror and sat down beside her, taking her into his arms and cradling her. "Shh, it is okay Christine, I am here, it will be alright. I will not leave you again." Christine smiled as she looked up and pulled his face down to hers in a kiss. When they pulled away, she wrapped her arms around him. But then she pulled away and dried her cheeks, blushing slightly.

"Thank you for coming back, you had me worried that I had angered you severely and that you were never coming back. But I guess I did not need to act like that." She rubbed her face down and took a deep breath. "Ugh, these hormones are riving me mad! One minute I am my normal self, the next, I am a complete mess! If I have to suffer through 7 more months of this, I think that I will drive you, Madame Giry and everyone else on the planet away from me." Erik laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Well, you may drive everyone else away, but I think I can hang in there for the rest of the pregnancy, if you do not kill ME first."

Christine glared at him, but grinned. "I guess so. But I am truly sorry for my behavior. I just take things the wrong way now."

"Well, I can understand, maybe I should not have explained the Mousier Lare situation to you..." Christine put her finger to his lips.

"Please, can we not discuss that anymore? I do not want to get off like that again."

Erik sighed. "Alright, but what do you want to do?"

Christine grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well, we DID just have a fight, and I believe that after you have a fight there is making up involved. So maybe we could go home now and get started on that."

Erik grinned back and picked her up in his arms, heading back through the mirror to move on to happier activities, leaving the threat of Lare behind.

**Good? Bad? Ugly? LET ME KNOW IN A REVIEW! THANK YOU! I am not promising to write Peter Pan this week because I have NO IDEA how to begin. But as soon as I have something, I will write it and get it up. Thank you for your patience, it is greatly appreciated! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	17. Love Makes Up

**HI AGAIN! ENJOY!**

"All right everyone, that was wonderful. Now you can all go get a good night's sleep and get ready for tomorrow's performance." The whole cast gave a sigh of relief that Madame Giry finally was satisfied enough with their dancing to let them go.

Christine was one of the last to leave as she was rubbing her feet, which were incredibly strained. As she walked back stage heading to her dressing room, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her off to the side. Normally she would believe that it was Erik, but the grasp was much to hard and tight for it to be him. She turned to the man and was surprised to find Mousier Lare.

"Why, Mousier Lare, you startled me."

He smiled. "I am sorry about that, but I wanted to speak with you in private. I noticed that you did not come to see me at all since you came back from your, er, break. May I ask why?"

Christine tried to figure out what to say. "Well, it is just, well, I have been incredibly busy with the show and everything. I did not believe that I would miss so much, but Madame Giry has been incredibly helpful tutoring me with extra practice and such. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and rest up for tomorrow or I will be unable to even stand on my own feet!" Christine tried to walk past him, but he blocked her way.

"In a moment, Christine. I just wanted to make sure that there was no strange feelings between you and I."

Christine frowned. "Why would there be?"

He shrugged. "Well, we started off our, um, friendship so well with going to museums and lunches, I was just wanting to make sure that you did not leave on holiday because of something about me. Did you?"

Christine shook her head. "Oh no, nothing like that at all. I just decided that I needed to take a short break in order to just refocus and relax my voice. I needed to make sure that I was not pushing myself or putting my health at risk. But no, it had nothing to do with you, but thank you for your concern. Now, I really must go rest. Good evening, Mousier Lare."

Christine was finally able to get past him and hurried to her dressing room. She did not see the slight glare cover Mousier Lare's features as he watched her go. But it was only for a moment, then he turned on his heal and walked back to his office.

Once her door was closed and locked, Christine leaned back and gave a sigh of relief. She did not want to have to deal with Mousier Lare right now, not after that fight she and Erik had just had over him. Even though the making up was fun, she did not want to argue like that with him again any time soon.

But no use thinking about that right now. Christine hurried over to her vanity and began to take off the various pieces of jewelry she had been wearing for dress rehearsal. An arm snaking around her stomach startled her, but the soft touch told her all she needed to know. She closed her eyes and smiled as she leaned back against Erik's chest.

He gave her hair a kiss as he began to sway a little, comforting Christine even more. "So, how was your day, my angel?"

Christine quickly decided against telling him about her encounter with Mousier Lare. "Tiring, but productive. Madame Giry says that I am perfectly ready for tomorrow and that she is proud of me for mastering so much in so little time."

Erik beamed. "Well, that it wonderful. Of course you told her who has been helping you master the music, correct?"

Christine nodded, still in complete bliss. "Of course I did. I told her that my darling, dutiful and dashing husband made certain that my voice was absolutely perfect for tonight, making sure that I did not strain my voice of course."

"Good, I cannot have you taking all the credit, my dear wife, or we may have some deeper problems to deal with."

Christine pulled back and turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh really? So I guess I am just your puppet and you just married me for my voice?"

Erik shook his head, kissing her forehead. "Of course not, I also liked your dazzling looks, too."

Christine pretended to be shocked and swatted his arm, but neither of them could help smiling.

Erik quickly began to pull her towards the mirror. Christine protested. "Erik, I need to finish taking off my jewelry and..."

"And you can do that when we get home. Now come, you need to eat dinner and get some rest." Christine sighed in aggravation, but agreed, slightly happy at being able to go home so soon.

The two went through the mirror, closing it behind them, happy to be able to get back to each other.

But what they did not know was that a certain man was listening to every word they were saying, peaking through the keyhole so he could see them, too. And who quickly rushed back to tell his boss the new, startling information that he had learned. Christine and Erik also did not know that their happiness was about to be shattered once again.

**Oh, Oh! What will happen! This time I actually know! This whole new idea just hit me while I wrote this and now I can add some drama to this story. What I really need is something that will fill in the next 7months before Christine gives birth (sigh). But if you guys have any ideas, funny serious and or romantic, send it my way in your REVIEW. Thanks you guys! Until next chapter, Li Li **

**P.S. Again, nothing to report on Peter Pan, but I plan to either work on it today or tomorrow and try to figure out where a good are would be to start, then I will post it. So hang in there, dear readers, and I will work to serve your needs. I PROMISE! Thanks for understanding!**


	18. Killed by Love?

**Hi! Big news at end of chapter, so read quickly (but not too quickly) and check it out! ENJOY!**

Christine leaned against the wall of her dressing room, nervously waiting for the show to begin and for herself to go on. But she could not help remembering the events of last night, with Erik and her enjoying a night together before the show. Erik had taken her back up to her dressing room early in the morning, which was odd to Christine because Erik normally kept her down in the lair for most of the day since she did not need to get ready until the evening . But now she had not seen him since, which was not normal because he always came around about this time to give her a good luck kiss before he took his seat to watch the show.

Christine shrugged and went to check on her makeup. No matter, he would be in his seat and she would be able to know that he was enjoying her singing as if he was the only one there.

A knock at the door announced Madame Giry, who was here to help Christine with any last minute needs. "How are you my dear?"

Christine smiled. "Good, nervous as usual, but still good."

"Wonderful, and how is the, um, other nervous issue?"

Christine smiled down at her stomach, which was now ever so slightly beginning to show through her clothes. "Good too, I suppose. He has been quite content and my morning sickness is still happening and my hormones are driving Erik mad."

Madame Giry smiled softly. "That is to be expected, but I did warn him. Now, are you ready to go on now?"

Christine nodded. "Ready as I will ever be."

"Good, now come or you will be late."

Christine gave one last longing look at her mirror, disappointed that she had not been given her good luck kiss, then hurried out after Madame Giry.

* * *

"Why, Madame Larky, welcome. I was so hoping that you would arrive soon." Christine nodded as she walked past Jonathan, the leading man in the Opera, and onto the stage.

"Thank you, Mousier Click, but I must not stay long or my husband will believe that I am having an affair with you, of all people."

The audience laughed as Christine made her way into the middle of the stage. She took a few breaths as the music began to play and her singing was to begin. She glanced up at the box that Erik normally sat in, hoping to get a glimpse of him in the dark, but she saw no sign of her husband or his white mask.

Instead, Mousier Lare sat in his place, a small smile gracing his features as he caught her eye.

Christine almost missed her mark as she began to sing, thinking of how furious Erik would be when he found his seat taken. But she could not think on that now, now she must perform.

As her voice sang and as the ballet rats behind her began to dance, Christine thought that she heard a voice cry out slightly from above her, but she did not look up, thinking that it was nothing.

Suddenly, down from the rafters above fell a man. The ballet rats and audience screamed as they ran out from underneath the man, but Christine almost fainted right there when she realized that the man was hanging by the neck from a rope, dead.

The audience ran as fast as they could out of the Opera House, tripping and shoving as they did so. The ballet rats and actors ran out of the stage while backstage workers ran up to the rafters to see if they could save the man. The managers rushed about, apologizing to the audience and yelling at anyone else they could find, their faces as pale as snow.

Meg and Madame Giry pushed themselves against the tide of people rushing back stage, trying to get to Christine. They were finally able to and came up to where she had not moved since the chaos had started.

"Come Christine, we must go!" Madame Giry tried to drag Christine from her frozen stance on stage but was unable to even get her to move no matter how hard she pulled.

"Christine, what is it? Your face is pale." Meg tugged at Christine's sleeve, trying to get her attention, worry filling her. But Christine's mind was far away from them, not noticing them or anything else except for the thing that was now causing horror to cross her face.

Madame Giry looked up to where Christine was looking and almost collapsed herself as she took in the full meaning of the item above their heads..

For a red rose with a black ribbon was tucked into the breast pocket of the man who was hung, speaking of by whom the crime was committed, the famous signature of the Opera Ghost.

**Uh oh, Erik's in trouble. So, like the new twist on things? And if you were wondering, yes, this scene is from the movie. I just thought that maybe taking a little from it might add some interest. So, same routine, please send me a REVIEW and let me know how the chapter was. Also, I am sorry that I was late. My computer had a virus that had to be removed, so I was without my laptop for several days. But now I have it back so the world is as it should be. Until next chapter, Li Li**

**P.S. Oh yeah, the big news: I FINALLY wrote chapter one of my Peter Pan story! It is posted and pretty, so go check it out and let me know what you think! I have some rather, unusual plans for the story, a different twist on the usual Wendy/Peter romance stories, but I hope that it will work out great. Just go to my profile and check it out! Li Li**


	19. Love Explains

**Hi, ENJOY!**

Christine was still in shock as Madame Giry led her back to her dressing room. Madame Giry had recovered from her initial shock and was now taking charge of the situation, sending Meg to her bedroom so Madame Giry could help Christine. Once they were back in the room, Madame Giry set Christine down in a chair and fetched some water to help her calm her nerves.

Christine was brought out of her shock as she drank the water and once she was done, the tears began to flow.

Madame Giry rubbed Christine's back as Christine leaned against her sobbing. This went on for several minutes until Christine began to take deep breaths and calm down. When the last sob was gone, she sat up and brushed the last stray tears away form her cheeks.

"Oh, Madame Giry, how could Erik do this? I mean, he never hurts anyone, but now he murders an innocent man? What happened to him? Was it me? Does Erik not want a child so now his emotions are going crazy? Is it..." Madame Giry shushed her.

"Hush, my dear child, you are not to blame. We cannot know for sure if it was or was not Erik, we can only look at the evidence and come to our own conclusions. But I know that he would never kill a man without good reason, and I know that it is not your fault. We must calm ourselves, think clearly and all we be fine. Now, I believe that you need some rest and I need some water. Go to sleep now and I will see you tomorrow morning. I will keep the police at bay until you can think clearly enough to answer questions. I know that Erik did not do this, he would never kill unless in self defense, so I trust that God will watch over you tonight. Good night, Christine."

"Good night Madame Giry." Once the door closed, Christine leaned back onto her pillows and felt the full effects of the whole situation come over her and she fell into a deep sleep.

The sound of something sliding woke Christine later that night. She quickly reached for a candle but was stopped by a hand. She opened her mouth to scream but a hand covered it. She felt a cloth cover her eyes and someone pick her up.

She began to struggle, but knew that the act was futile as her captor did not seem to even notice. Her captor took her through some sort of door and carried her through twists and turns until she could not even tell how long she had been carried. Finally they emerged into what seemed to be the outside since it got much colder all of the sudden. She heard the noises of carts and the wind blowing so she assumed that they must be up on the roof.

Her captor set her down on the bare stone, causing her to shiver as the cold stone met her feet. The blindfold was taken away and Christine was able to confirm that they were on the rooftop. She turned around and was shocked to see who her captor was.

"Erik? What are you doing?"

Erik reached into his pocket and pulled out his mask, placing it on his face. "I had to get you alone so we could talk. Christine, I did not murder that man."

Christine crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Oh really, and why should I believe you?"

"Because you know that I would never do that. Sure, I have a nasty temper and I sometimes do things that I regret, but I would never get so angry as to murder someone. I mean, so I have threatened people, but I have only done that because that is the only way they will listen to me. I would force a person to leave forever and make them lose all their money before I would actually murder them, and you know that."

Christine continued to glare. "A red rose with a black bow around it was in the man's pocket, how do you explain that?"

Erik rubbed his face and heaved a sigh. "I know that, but anyone who hears the legend of the Opera Ghost knows that I always leave red roses with black bows around, so someone could have easily copied me and made the blame go to me."

Christine's face softened a bit and she looked down at her feet. "Yes, I suppose they could have done that, but why would anyone murder that man? I recognize him as one of the back stage workers, so I doubt that killing him would do anyone much good."

Erik brightened up at the fact that Christine was no longer suspicious of him. "Well, I suppose that maybe that man had gotten into a bad deal with someone and they wanted to get him back. Or maybe he was in the way of someone who was trying to do something else and he had to be gotten rid of. Of course the most logical explanation is that someone wanted the Opera House to lose business, and having someone fall from the rafters murdered during a show would be the best way of ruining the managers. Several possible explanations, but I have no clues to any of them."

Christine suddenly thought of something and looked back up at Erik. "Erik, where were you this evening? I missed you before the show coming to wish me good luck and then I did not see you in your box."

Erik frowned and looked at her. "That is the odd part. I got a letter this morning where Madame Giry normally leaves me letters telling me to meet them at the other end of town because they had something important to tell me. I thought that it was a trap for someone to capture me, but I figured that I needed to find out what it was, so I took you up early then left. The trip took longer then expected as I had to keep in the shadows and had to make certain that no one saw me. I finally got into the poorer part of Paris and looked for the location, but it did not exist. I asked several prostitutes and beggars for information, but no one had ever heard of the place I was referring to. I decided that I needed to hurry back and check on you, but I had to take the long way back because of too many people around. I only just got back and Madame Giry informed me of the situation, saying that she did not believe that I did it but that I needed to talk to you as soon as possible. I figured that bringing you up here would give us the perfect place to talk alone."

Christine thought this all through before nodding. "I believe you, but that still does not help that we have a murdered loose here still."

Erik took her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "I know, my angel, but I will figure out something to bring that murderer to justice. Now, let us go home and get some much needed rest."

Christine nodded as Erik led her back into the Opera House and back home.

What the pair did not know was that they were being watched and that the person watching them was grinning, excited to go to the next part of the plan.

**Ooh, what is the next part of the plan? I still have not figured it out but it should be good. I hope that you all enjoyed this early Christmas present. Merry Christmas to all! As a Christmas present to ME you guys can either REVIEW or go to my blog (www[dot]thepinkbookworm[dot]com) and leave a comment, or you guys can do both and make me REALLY happy :)lol. Still, I hope that your holiday season will be bright and that you guys will have a great time. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	20. A Plan for Love

**Hello everyone, ENJOY!**

"So what do I do now, boss? Christine believed him, just like you said."

"Well then I guess you will have to take more, drastic measures to make sure that he is the murderer. Make sure that you sign the letter right or they will suspect something. Also, put another rose with the letter to Christine. I want her to know for sure who it was from. Is your disguise ready?"

"Yes, boss, I have it right here, ironed and everything."

"Good. Do you have the most important part?"

"Yes, I polished and conformed it to the way you said to. I have to say, boss, sometimes I scare myself when I look in the mirror wearing it."

"You scare yourself anyway, fool. Now just make sure that you only show her that side, we cannot afford any mistakes. Also, make sure that the room is dark enough, but not too dark. She has to fall for it or all is lost. Now get out of here before you are spotted and I have to explain why I have such a man as YOU in my office. Go."

"Yes, boss."

* * *

"Christine, Christine wake up." Christine groaned and tried to pull the covers up over her face but found that someone was holding them back. She opened her eyes slowly to find a grinning Erik above her. She groaned again.

"Ugh, Erik, leave me alone. I am tired. I know you can do it without me."

"Do what without you?" Christine glared at him.

"Do not pretend with me, Erik, I know that look in your eyes. You want me to haul myself out of bed, walk to your organ and sing while you play. And I say no to that. You can play by yourself and leave me to my dreams."

"Well," Erik said still grinning, "You actually have it wrong," Christine opened her eyes again, curious, "You can wear your nightgown while you sing." Christine picked up a pillow and threw it at his head, missing her target. He laughed as he pulled the covers completely off and picked her up in his arms.

Christine tried to fight, but she was much to tired to be of any real threat so she just settled for being carried to the kitchen and set down in a chair. She tried to pout and sulk, but the warm scent of eggs and sausage quickly perked her up enough to dig into the large breakfast Erik had created.

After she was done eating, she sat back and patted her belly. "Was that good, little one? I think it was. Your father did quite a good job, even though I did have to get out of bed."

Erik grinned. "Well, I knew that if I did not get you up now, the food would get cold. But next time I will try not to make so much food that I cannot serve you in bed."

Christine smiled and continued to massage her belly, enjoying the thought that there was someone growing in there.

Suddenly, a small thump against her hand startled her. She looked down quickly, not sure what she had felt. But then, another thump from her belly hit her hand.

Panic raced through her mind as she tried to figure out what was happening. But then she calmed down when she realized what it was. Tears began to spill forth and she began to cry.

Erik quickly kneeled down beside her and took her hand, panic filling his eyes. "Christine, what is it? What is wrong?"

Christine looked down at him and began to laugh. She took his hand and placed it on her belly.

At first, he did not know what to do, but then another thump hit his hand and almost made him jump out of his skin. "What was that!"

Christine stopped laughing and brushed the tears from her eyes. "It is the baby, Erik, our baby."

Erik did not calm down. "What is wrong with the baby, is it hurt, are you hurt?"

"Erik, Erik, calm down, nothing is wrong. Actually, everything is perfect. Erik, our baby is kicking for the first time."

Erik slowly calmed down and leaned against the chair as he absorbed the news. "Our baby? Our baby is kicking?"

Christine smiled. "Yes, he is finally moving around."

Erik could not take his eyes away from her belly, where his hand still lay. "Our baby is moving. I cannot believe it. It makes this all seem to real now. But I guess I should not be surprised, our daughter does have your energy."

Christine rolled her eyes. "Well, actually your SON will have your passion and these kicks are very strong, so he will also have your strength."

Erik glared a little but could not stop smiling. "Even though I know that you are wrong, either way our child will have both our strengths in this area. Let us just hope that it will not have more on my side then on yours." Erik's face fell as he touched his mask lightly.

Christine took his hand away from his face and into her own hand. "Erik, no matter what happens, our child will not only be loved, but will also be treated the most special. No one will ever, EVER harm him or mock him because of his face. Even if, IF, he gets scarred, he will be treated normal. And I would never force him to go before the public unless it was his choice with his face. But since he will have no problem with his face, you do not have to constantly worry over it. Promise me that you will stop worrying and just enjoy the fact that you will be a father?"

Erik sighed but nodded. "I promise, for you. But I will not stop praying that my child will be spared the same curse that her father must suffer with."

Christine smiled but did not answer.

The two sat in this peace until the sound of the gate lifting interrupted them, announcing a visitor.

**Ah, how sweet. The beginning was all I could think of, but I do have kind of a plan now, we can just hope that I can organize it on paper with words. Please review and I hope that you guys all have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Until next chapter, Li Li**

**P.S. HAPPY 20****th**** CHAPTER! We made it (hugs) and I have to thank you all so much for hanging with me through all this drama and intrigue. Okay, maybe not intrigue, but still a lot of fluff! I hope that we will be able to enjoy another 10 or 20 chapters more together. Please review and once again, THANKS EVERYBODY! WE MADE IT TO 20! Li Li**


	21. Surprise for Love

**Hi, HAPPY NEW YEAR! ENJOY!**

Christine practically screamed in excitement when she saw Meg rowing towards the pair.

"Meg! What on earth are you doing here?"

Meg grinned as she stopped the boat and hopped on to solid ground again. She and Christine quickly embraced before Meg pulled back. "Well, Mother said that I could come and see how you are since she is incredibly busy right now. I did not know why you would actually be in the caverns, but Mother said that it was about time that I knew what was going on, but that you were the one who should tell me, so, here I am. So, what is going on with you down in a secret almost palace in the caverns?"

Christine bit her lip before answering. "Well, Meg, I must apologize, I have not been completely honest with you for the past few years now. First off, I want you to meet my husband of five years, Erik."

Meg's eyes widened in fear once she saw Erik, with the infamous white mask upon his face. She looked at Christine. "You, you, him, he, what, YOU ARE MARRIED TO THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA?!" Erik flinched a little at the yelling, but Christine nodded.

"Yes, I am. But he is not like they make him out to be. All the rumors about him raping poor ballet rats and about burning down opera houses**(a/n a little nod to the movie here)** are not true."

"But, but he sends threatening letters to the managers, and he murdered that innocent man!"

"I did NOT murder anyone, Miss Meg, someone framed me." Meg cowered under Erik's glare, while Christine frowned at Erik, shaking her head. She turned Meg back to face her.

"He really did not murder anyone, and as for those letters, well, he likes to intimidate people for amusement."

Meg cocked her head. "He finds threatening people amusing? But alright, I guess it is too late now, you are married to him now, and for five years! Why did you not tell me?"

Christine wrung her hands. "Well, it is just that Erik promised me to secrecy and..."

"Erik?"

Christine nodded. "Yes, that is his real name, Erik Destler. Anyway, he made me keep the fact that I was married to him a secret for so long, with the one exception of your mother, that I never knew how to approach you about it. I am sorry Meg, but I hope that you will forgive me."

Meg thought for a moment and then nodded. "I guess you do have a point. If I was married to the Phan, I mean, Erik, I would keep my marriage a secret forever. But, I am happy for you, you know that. Every girl is thrilled when their best friend finds true love and happiness, I just wish I had known sooner. But now, tell me EVERYTHING. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I think that I am owed an explanation."

Christine smiled, relived, but then Erik gave a short cough and the girls turned to him. "I think that I should go and, um, check on any of my machines around here so make sure that they all work perfectly. I will be back soon." And with that, Erik quickly stepped in the boat and rowed off.

Christine watched him go and then grabbed Meg's hand and led her back to the parlor area to talk.

Christine explained everything to Meg, from the first rose from Erik, to the marriage ceremony, to the whole drama with Raoul, any good points from the past five years, and finally to her pregnancy.

Meg was completely ecstatic over the new baby and asked for every tidbit she could get on it, even learned about the small battle between Erik and Christine over if the baby was a girl or a boy.

"Well, I personally think that it should be a girl."

"Why?" Asked Christine.

"Because then she would have your slight temper and be able to drive everyone crazy on a day to day basis like you do." Meg replied frankly, laughing when Christine rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Meg

"Oh, alright, I suppose we will all have to wait and see what happens. But what did your mother send you down here to tell me?"

Meg frowned but then brightened up. "Oh Christine, I have wonderful news. The other day I met a terrific man and after having lunch and talking over dinner with mother, we got married yesterday evening! Is that not great!"

Christine almost felt her jaw hit the floor. "You, you got married! Without telling me!"

Meg stared at the floor, fidgeting a little. "Well, yes, but Mother said that I should not tell you until everything about this murder was straightened out or you would not be able to notice my marriage or be happy. But then I told her that I just had to tell you today, so she gave in and told me where you were. But, you are happy about me being married, right Christine?"

Christine could not help it as a smile grew over her have. "Of course I am happy, more then happy, thrilled! But you have to let me meet him soon."

Meg smiled, relieved. "Oh, good, because you can actually meet him tonight after the show because he is coming to see it."

"I look forward to it. But can you tell me one thing? Who is he?"

Meg bit her lip a little, worried. "Well, I know that this may be awkward when you see him, but I am now Mrs, er, Countess Raoul DeChangy."

**Oh no, RAOUL'S BACK!!!!! Man, you can never get rid of that guy. What new drama will this hold for Christine? Will Meg actually be happy married to him, or will he turn out to be a crazy alcoholic? What about Erik? He is the one who threatened to kill Raoul if he ever came back, how will he take it that his wife's best friend is now married to him? Will Madame Giry be able to live with being in the middle of this crazy, soap opera drama(kind of like Wuthering Heights)? Will Mr. Squeaky ever be allowed to try out for the lead part!? Okay, maybe Mr. Squeaky does not exist (or does he?)but I do hope that you guys like this chapter, so PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you, and I hope that you all have another year filled with more fan fiction stories! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	22. Love's Friend

**Hi, me again, ENJOY!**

Christine's eyes became saucers and her mouth almost hit the floor as she tried to think over this new information. Meg frowned as her friend made no response.

"Um, Christine, are you alright? Christine?"

Christine finally brought herself back to the present and tried to control her voice level, but was unsuccessful, as she explained, "YOU MARRIED RAOUL?! Why?!"

Meg looked down at her shoes as she answered, "Well, see, we just got along so well and he was the only man I have ever met that liked to talk to me and not stare at my chest. At first I thought that he was just being nice to me, but I realized that he was really interested in who I am as a person and was willing to talk to me for a long time. Finally, I realized that he is the sort of man I want to marry someday, that he was the sort of man who loved me for who I am and always would, but, Christine, I never dreamt in a million years that he would actually propose to me! And yes, I did think about if he was using me, but I never even mentioned your name, ever! And now, the way he looks at me, I know that he truly does love me, and I love him too. Please Christine, please tell me that you are happy that I finally found someone who loves me and who has accepted me as his wife?"

Christine closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart, before she reopened them and smiled. "Oh Meg, of course I am happy for you. Ecstatic, in fact! I may not like Raoul, but he was my past and Erik is now my present and future. Besides, for him to find you and be happy, while making you happy at the same time, I could not be more thrilled for both of you. However, I do not think that either Erik or Raoul would be happy seeing me, so maybe you should just tell him that I cannot see him at this time. Would you do that for me? It would keep both of our marriages from getting stressed out and pushed to the breaking point, trust me."

Meg thought about this before she finally nodded. "Alright, I suppose you would know better then anyone else what we should do now. I never thought about any drama that might be created by my marriage to Raoul, but I never knew that you had a secret husband who lives down underground!" Meg looked back up at Christine, grinning slightly. "I never thought that when I woke up this morning that my whole view on my best friend would be changed completely. But at least it is in a good way and not in a terrible, alcoholic, prostitute way." Meg glanced at the clock on the wall and just about jumped into the water. "Oh no! I have to leave now or I will be late with spending the morning with Raoul before I have practice. Do you have another way of leaving here without having to swim?"

Christine quickly scanned her mental map of the caverns and nodded. "Yes, I have another door that we can go through, although Erik says that it has a slight rat problem, but if we move quickly we can get back up to the surface in a few minutes."

The two quickly ran through a small doorway and through a couple tunnels, avoiding the occasional rat, until they found themselves near the front door to the Opera House. Meg turned back to Christine as they stepped out.

"Thank you so much, Christine, this helped me out a lot. And, again, congratulations on your marriage to Erik and the fact that you will have a baby soon!"

Christine smiled. "Thank you, Meg, and my congratulations to your marriage as well. Now go, before you make your new husband anxious."

Meg quickly ran off to find her husband while Christine turned back to open the secret door when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Good morning, Christine, I am happy to see you again finally."

Christine held in a groan and put a smile back on her face as she turned around. "Ah, Mousier La, er, Phillip, it is so wonderful to see you as well."

Mousier Lare smiled. "I am glad, but I was upset that I was unable to see you for what seemed like such a long time. Have you been ill?"

Christine shook her head. "No, no I have been in perfect health. I have just been slightly more tired then usual and I thought that I should catch up on rest before shows. I am sorry if you have been worried over that, forgive me."

He frowned a little, but Christine did not catch it. "Ah, yes, I understand. But when I spotted you over here I thought that I must send you an invitation to have brunch with me. The mangers will tell you that I have been at their throats for quite some time now, and I think that having brunch with such a wonderful and beautiful woman as yourself would help calm my nerves. Would you are to?"

Christine knew that Erik would be angry, but Mousier Lare held the power of closing the Opera House in his hand, and she must make certain that his hand did not fall. "Of course, I would love too."

He held out his arm, a smug grin settling on his features. "Wonderful, now if you will come with me and we will go to my carriage."

Christine took his arm and followed him out, not knowing of the dark things that were happening just above her head.

**Oh, oh, what 'dark things' do you think are happening? I have more plans for this story, so hopefully it will turn out good. And yes, I know that I did not answer my previous questions about Raoul (and Mr. Squeaky) but I promise that we will return to that topic hopefully soon. PLEASE REVIEW and until next chapter, Li Li**


	23. Love Kills?

**I hope that you guys are excited about the next chapter! ENJOY!**

"...and that was how I came to inherit my family estates and fortune." Christine took Mousier Lare's hand and stepped out of his carriage, glad that she was finally back from what seemed like forever eating lunch and just listening to Mousier go on and on about his family, his money and various other boring topis. She was glad that he was now finished explaining how his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather came into a sum of money which then led to the Lare fortune being created down the generations until Mousier Lare's father topped off the current amount at his death. Not that Christine found the stories boring, but when you can not even give a simple nod before he cuts you off, you can tend to get a little tired.

But now she was back at the Opera House and was more then eager to go and spend time with Erik. She turned back to Mousier Lare and shook his hand. "Thank you for the delicious brunch, Phillip, it was wonderful. I do not think that I have had such wonderful food like that in a long time."

Mousier Lare smiled, kissing her hand instead of shaking it, sending a feeling of ickiness through Christine. "I had a wonderful time as well, Christine, and I hope that we may do this again, hopefully soon."

"Uh, yes, of course, if the operas do not take up all my time. Good day, Phillip." Christine quickly turned around and practically ran back into the Opera House. Mousier Lare watched her go, a smirk covering his features.

"Good day, Christine."

Christine hurried to the secret door, but she had to turn back and head to her dressing room as a group of workers were gathered around the door. Once she got to her door, she tried to open it, but found that it was locked. She tried to remember if she had locked it before she had left it, but could not recall doing that. But she had a spare key stuck above her door, so she reached up and grasped the key. She put the key into the door and opened it, practically running in so she could get back to her home.

But what she found was not something she had ever expected to see in her life.

A cloaked figure stood over what looked to be the body of a man. There was only a single candle lit, casting a menacing glow over the cloaked figure. The body of the man was lying on the ground next to her bed, not moving.

Suddenly, the figure spun around, standing up tall. In his hand was a knife, with what looked to be blood dripping from it. Christine was able to now see that the neck of the man was slit. By standing up the figure revealed something that caused Christine to feel as though her heart was ripped from within her chest.

A pure white, porcelain mask lay on the right side of his face, while the rest of his face was hidden in the dark.

Christine's mind finally caught up with her and she screamed, running back out of her bedroom. The last thing she remembered was the gilt of light reflecting on the white, menacing mask before everything went black.

"Christine! I think that she is finally coming around. Christine, are you alright?"

Christine slowly opened her eyes and focused them on the revealed face of Meg. Christine began to sit up and felt a man's arms help her up so she could get comfortable. Christine rubbed her forehead and looked around her.

"Where am I?"

Meg smiled. "You are in my bedroom. One of workers heard you scream and found you lying on the ground in front of your bedroom door. He got all of us and we came to get you, but then we found the body of another worker lying next to your bed. The police are still investigating the room, but we have been watching you to make sure that you did not suffer too much shock. How do you feel?"

"I am fine, but...oh Meg! I think it was Erik!" Christine began to weep, leaning against Meg's shoulder.

Meg rubbed Christine's back, a confused look covering her features. "What do you mean 'Erik?' What did he do?"

Christine shook her head and just cried, unable to talk.

Finally, after a few minutes, Christine wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "When I went into my bedroom, I saw a figure standing over the body, er, the worker, and he was holding a knife in his hand with blood on it. When I came in, the figure turned around and, and, oh Meg! He was wearing a white mask like Erik's!"

The tears began to flow again and Meg's mouth fell open. But after a few minutes she finally closed it and said, "Well, how do you know for sure that it was Erik? It could have been someone else in disguise."

Christine looked up at Meg. "But how could it have been, Meg? Erik is the only person who wears a mask like that, and how could someone copy that? He is never seen by anyone."

Meg bit her lip. "Well, I have no idea, but hopefully Erik will have a good reason why he could not have done it."

"Who is this Erik man? Meg, have I met him before?"

Christine turned around to see the man who had helped her up and was stunned to look into the face of, none other than, Raoul DeChangy.

**WOW! She finally sees Raoul for the first time in five years. And how about Raoul finding out who Erik is? And did Erik murder that guy?!?!?! We will have to wait until the next chapter, so until next chapter, Li Li.**


	24. An Old Love

**Alright, the first meeting of Raoul and Christine in five years! ENJOY!**

Raoul smiled. "Hello, Christine, it has been a while since we last saw each other, hasn't it?"

Christine nodded, but could not form words in her mouth. Raoul frowned.

"Christine, are you alright? And you two have still not answered my question; who is this man Erik?"

Christine bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say as her mind slowly caught up with her. But before she could answer anything, Meg chimed in.

"Erik is Christine's husband. But, once again, Christine, I do not believe that it was he whom you saw in your bedroom. Mother always says that there is a reasonable explanation for everything and everyone, so Erik will be able to supply it and all will be cleared up soon."

Raoul's eyes widened. "Husband? Why, Christine, when did you get married?"

Christine finally found her voice again and answered, "Five years ago, just after I came to the Opera House."

"But wait, I met you quite a bit after you arrived here, how is it that you and I were together if you were..."Raoul's mouth dropped, "You were already married when I was trying to court you?!" Christine nodded, "But how could you do that unless your husband allowed it?"

"Well, I did not actually think we were courting, but Erik thought otherwise so after a while, he finally put a stop to it and, well, he sent you..."

"Oh!" Raoul slapped his forehead. "That letter was from your husband? I thought that he was some sort of deranged maniac or something, but I should have known from the tone of the letter that it was more then just a regular man, that he was your husband. Oh, what a fool I was to try and court a married woman! I should be burned at the stake for that."

Christine patted his hand. "No, Raoul, that was not your fault. I was the one who did not firmly put a stop to it and save us both a lot of hassle. I should have realized that allowing you to continue what you were doing would only bring hardship to both of us, and would just anger Erik. I do apologize for both myself and for Erik's threatening letter."

Raoul shook his head. "No, you had no fault in this, it was my own young ambitions that were what caused it all. And as for that letter, well, I think that it was deserved. But what I want to know is why your husband signed that letter 'O. G.' or 'Opera Ghost' as I am told unless he..." Raoul suddenly went pale. "Unless he IS the Opera Ghost, or the Phantom of the Opera. Is he, Christine?"

Christine looked down. "Well, if you must know, yes, he is. But he is not like the rumors make him out to be. Yes, he does have a temper, but he never kidnaped a ballet rat and torn out her tongue so she would never sing for anyone else ever again, and he only threatens people so they will listen to him, not because he would actually hurt him. But right now, I do not know if I can believe that or not myself!" Christine began to sob once again as Meg rubbed her back and looked at Raoul for some sort of help for the poor girl.

Raoul got up and headed to the door. "I do not believe that Erik could have done this, or at least, I hope not, but I will go and see what new information I can learn on the case so we can try and put this incredible puzzle together. I will hopefully be back soon." Raoul hurried out the door as Christine continued to sob against Meg.

After a bit, someone knocked on the door. Meg got up to answer it as Christine leaned against the bed and took a few deep breaths. Meg opened the door and there was Madame Giry. Madame Giry went straight to Christine and kneeled down beside her.

"Christine, I know how horrible this whole situation may seem, but I have faith that Erik did not do this. He must have been framed, just like the last murder here. Someone is just trying to hurt you both or the Opera House, and you must realize that. Now, come, get a drink of water, wash your face and get ready for bed. You are putting too much stress on you and the child, so you must rest and re-energize for tomorrow, when you will be questioned by the police."

Christine nodded and stood up. After taking a few sips of water and washing her face, Meg helped her into a nightgown that she was letting Christine borrow. Christine slid under the covers as Meg blew out a couple candles.

"Please sleep well, Christine, and I will see you in the morning." Christine nodded and Meg opened the door to leave, but was stopped when she ran into Raoul. Meg closed the door, but Christine could still hear her and Raoul on the other side.

"Meg, there you are, I have something to tell Christine something about the body."

"What about the body? Christine needs to rest right now, this has been too much for her, and I doubt that any news right now would be good news."

"You are right, but I believe that she should know."

"Well, tell me then, what was found?"

"A red rose with a black ribbon tied in a bow around it."

Meg gasped. "Are you sure? That was what they found on the other man. Well, that means that either Erik is being framed or he..." Meg trailed off and Christine heard them silently walk away.

Christine's heart sunk down into her shoes, but she tried to convince herself that it was just a mistake and that Erik would be able to tell her what was going on.

At least, she hoped he would be able to.

**Alright then, what will happen next? I guess you (and I) will have to wait until next chapter. So, until then, PLEASE REVIEW and let me know how this chapter was. Until next chapter, Li Li**


	25. NightmareDream Come True for Love

**I am sorry for the late**__**update, but I have been incredibly busy. Please review and let me know if it was worth the wait! ENJOY!**

_Running. Running. That was all she was able to register. _

_She kept on running away from some unknown danger._

_But suddenly she saw a light ahead of her, amongst the darkness. She ran faster and found that it was an open door. A white, gloved hand was reaching out from the light, beckoning her to enter. _

_She smiled and took the hand, but lost her grip and ended up slipping the glove off of the hand. _

_Suddenly, instead of a normal human hand, a black, claw like hand was reaching towards her, with the dark crimson of blood dripping from its fingers._

_She screamed and tried to turn back, but she could not run away from the hand. It came closer and closer, until it finally reached her arm and..._

Christine sat up bolt right, breathing hard. She frantically looked around, but found that she was sitting in Meg's bed, with no hand reaching out to get her. She pushed the covers back and got up, knowing that whatever time it was she would not be able to go back to sleep.

She went over to the vanity and splashed water on her face, trying to forget that horrible dream. When she looked in the mirror, she noticed that her eyes were less red but still looked like she had been crying. She felt her stomach and smiled when she felt a small bump there. At least she would be able to enjoy that the fact that she was going to be a mother soon, and Erik would be a father.

Erik. Christine frowned. She still had no idea what to think of him and last night, but she knew for sure that she needed to talk to him as soon as possible so she could hear his side of the story, whatever it may be.

All of the sudden, the door opened and Meg stuck her head in. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw Christine standing in front of the vanity.

"Oh thank goodness, you are up. I heard you lashing around in my bed, but whenever I looked in on you, I saw that you were dreaming. Raoul said that I should probably leave you be or you might have a fright if I suddenly woke you up. Are you alright?"

Christine nodded. "Of course, I just had a bad dream. Um, do you know when I will have to leave?"

Meg shook her head and walked in, closing the door behind her. "I have no idea. The police are still trying to figure out what happened to the man and are questioning everyone else first after Mother told them that you were still recovering from the shock."

"Good, I think that I still need some time. I believe that I will just lie down and collect my nerves back together. Could I be left alone?"

"Oh, of course. You just let me know when you need anything and Raoul and I will be in my mother's room. Please, Christine, just relax and get better, alright?"

Christine smiled. "Of course, now go, I will be fine."

Meg left and Christine went back to the bed and sat down. She decided to try and get some more sleep, so she snuggled back under the covers and closed her eyes.

But before she could try and drift off to sleep, she felt two pieces of cloth cover her mouth and her eyes, leaving her blind and mute. The last thing she remembered was the smell of some sort of drug being pressed to her face, causing blackness to overwhelm her.

The sounds of two men talking were the first things that Christine noticed as she came out of her sleep once again. She still had her eyes and mouth covered, but her ears could still hear things pretty well. She tried to move around, but found that she was tied to a chair. She could not reach the knot nor could she even wiggle very much at all. She decided that the best thing for her to do right now was to stay still and listen to her captors.

"What were you thinking, you idiot?!" The first man said. He sounded muffled, as if he was talking behind a door, and Christine could not even begin to tell who he was.

"I am sorry, sir, but I thought that you said to kidnap her as well." The second man answered, just as muffled as the first man.

"Fool, I never said anything of the kind. I said dress as the Phantom and kill that man so she would think that it was him, but nothing else. Everything was going perfectly until you decided to try this little stunt and now most of Paris is searching for her. I should have never put you in as the Phantom, you just mess everything up."

"Sorry, sir, but..."

"No buts. We have to figure out how to solve this problem. I gather that the only thing we can do now is for you to take her back to the Opera House and leave her someplace where people can find her, unharmed. I trust that even you can do such a simple task as that?"

"Of course sir, anything."

"Good, but be certain to drug her again just to make certain that she will not figure out where she was and take her back to the Opera House, leaving her on the stage so they can be sure to see her. Now go, before I decide to do to you what you have already done to those two other men."

A door opened and the sounds of footsteps were all that Christine heard before a cloth was pressed to her nose and once again blackness came over her.

But she was not upset at this. She was much to busy focusing on some of the best news she had heard yet: Erik was innocent!

**Yeah! Erik is still a good guy! But whatever happened to our dashing, dreamy and slightly deranged Phantom of the Opera? I guess we (you and I) will have to wait until next chapter to find out. Again, sorry for the late chapter but I hope that you liked it, but since I cannot tell her from in the middle of the mountains, PLEASE REVIEW! Until next chapter, Li Li**

**Happy 25****th**** Chapter! Thank you for sticking with me through all this, even though this was a little (lot) late, but that is besides the point. THANK YOU!!! Li Li**


	26. The Truth for Love

**Hello everyone. This chapter is slightly different then usual: It is from Erik's point of view, from just before the murder to afterwards when Christine was kidnaped. ENJOY!**

A loose rock slipped out from under his shoe, but he was able to catch himself from falling. By now he was used to rocks slipping out from under him and almost causing him to fall into the river below him. The buildings along the bank were smooth, so nothing to catch onto. The slope was a sheer cliff when you moved even a little towards the water, so Erik had to make sure that he kept to the sides of the buildings as much as possible.

Why he was in this deadly place, he was still not certain. He had gotten a note from a man who said that he knew who is was that killed the worker and tried to blame Erik. Erik did not know if he could trust anyone, but he had to or he might pass up some important information. But why the man had said to meet him by the river was beyond Erik.

Another 10 minutes passed and Erik still could not see anyone. If he fell to his death, at least he knew that Christine would be alright at the Opera House with Madame Giry watching over her.

Another 15 minutes passed. Alright, now he was beginning to wonder if there was an end to this path or if he was falling into a trap.

Another 5 minutes passed. If he did not see anyone for another 5 minutes then he would turn around and...wait, what was that up ahead? Erik quickened his pace and came closer to a light. As he got closer, he found that the light was a lantern and that a man was holding it. The man turned to Erik and held up his hand.

"Stop, come no further. I cannot risk being identified for fear of my life. Are you Erik?"

"Yes."

"Good, then stay where you are and I will tell you what I know. The man who killed that worker is a very cunning man. He is as sly as a fox and as smooth as a snake. He strikes fear into the hearts of the men who work for him, yet he can have every woman he meets fall in love with him. His only goal and thought in life is to get what he wants, no matter what the costs. He once killed two men and severely wounded another just so he could get a pair of shoes he wanted to wear to a ball. You must not underestimate his power or his will. If anyone gets in his way, he cuts them down before they can even scream. He has 20 murders by his henchmen, 3 by himself. He has robbed common shops and rich mansions, he has killed regular beggars and rich barons, and he has had 9 woman raped for him by other men. Your wife would have been number 10 if she had not been able to escape."

Erik's fist clenched. "He did that to my wife? Who is he?"

"Calm down, you cannot do anything when you are angry. He just wanted to get your wife scared enough that she would run to his arms when they met. But that was before he knew that you were married to her, and now he is wanting to break you two apart."

"But how could he know that we are married? It is a secret to all."

"Let me just say that he has spies everywhere that can pick up things, and he himself also notices details unknown to the common eye. But that is not the point. The point is that you need to make certain that you are protected. Fortunately for you he cannot find where you hide, in fact he has never seen you, but he knows your signatures, such as the red rose with black ribbon and a white mask, and will use them until your wife leaves you. You must keep hidden and keep your wife safe. I would suggest running, but he has the bad habit of being able to find anyone he wants to find. What you need to do is figure out a way to link him to the murders he has done, and then he will be arrested. But that will take time, a long time, and I can only provide you with what little information I have collected over the years."

Erik stepped closer. "But who are you? And why do you care about me?"

The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a large bundle of papers. "Who I am is not important. I am a simple worker form the shipyard, but I have been the victim to his atrocities many times. He raped my wife, murdered my brother and had my house cleared out completely and burned, leaving me broke and homeless. But now I am getting too old and I sense that my end has come, so I thought what better person to give this mission to then the Phantom of the Opera himself. Please keep up the investigation, but do not forget your wife and let him have her. If you sense death, give this to the man whom you suspect would be worthy of following in our footsteps. Now take it and go, before something else happens at the Opera House."

Erik took the bundle and the man turned to leave, but Erik said, "Wait! What is the name of this man?"

"He goes by many names, but right now you know him as..." BANG. The man gasped and slumped to the ground, rolling over the edge of the bank and into the river.

Erik looked around him and noticed a glint of metal from a rooftop of one of the houses, but it quickly disappeared and Erik scrambled to get as far away as possible. Once he was back on normal ground, he ran as quickly and stealthy as he could back to one of the man entrances to the underground caverns.

When he finally got back to the Lair, he sunk to the floor, as the adrenaline leaving his body and reality of what had happened sunk in. A man had been killed in order to give Erik what he needed to know in order to protect Christine, and now Erik was stunk with a bundle of papers and the knowledge that Christine may be in severe danger.

He began to untie the bundle, but then noticed a note on his table. He grabbed it and read it:

_Dear Erik, I have horrible news to report, yet another worker was murdered here, but this time Christine walked in on it happening in her own bedroom! You can imagine how frazzled she is, but now she says that it was YOU who did it! I do not know if it really was you, but we must talk as soon as possible. And I think that you must stay away from Christine until I know the truth, whatever it may be. Meet me on the rooftop and we will talk. Madame Giry_

Erik crumpled the note into a ball and threw it away from him. Now he was accused of yet another murder! When would it end, how many people would die because of some insane man's quest for Christine? He needed to do something about it, but first he had to establish his innocence with Madame Giry first.

**So, how was the change of scenery? I believe that the next chapter will be from Erik's point of view again, but then I think Christine will take over. Unless I change my plan and need to stay with Erik, or even switch to Mr. Squeaky( I will need to establish if he ever got his part or not). PLEASE REVIEW! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	27. Love Reunites

**Hey everyone. Just to let you know, we are having two points of view in this chapter. ENJOY!**

Madame Giry sat in her room sewing. She had to get Meg's dress fixed or she would have nothing to wear when she met Raoul's parents. Of course, the dress had to have such a large hole in the front and brown stains along the bottom that it was taking all of Madame Giry's sewing skills to get the dress to look some what proper.

At last, she put the last stitch in and put it back in her sewing bag. At least one thing was done and finished, unlike the mess with Erik and Christine.

Madame Giry groaned and leaned back in her chair. Oh, how she wished that Erik was innocent. She knew first hand how his anger could get out of hand, but he had never harmed anyone physically with it. He may say words that cut like a knife, but he would never lift a blade to harm anyone. But, she could not know anything for certain in these turbulent times. And she could only imagine what Christine must be feeling now, with her husband accused of murder and she herself witnessing it. But, nothing could be done about it until she talked with Erik. Madame Giry could only hope that Erik had gotten her note in time.

Erik watched as Madame Giry put the sewing basket away. He knew that she was waiting for him, but he wanted to see how she was and how things had progressed from the way she acted. If her groans and constant frown were any sign of how things were, he knew that he was in big trouble.

Erik watched as Madame Giry put on her cloak and left the room. He followed her from the rafters as she calmly walked through the Opera House until she came to the stairs that took her to the rooftop. She climbed them and Erik followed her onto the roof, where she stopped and stood staring at the city of Paris below her.

"You know that you can not sneak up on me after all these years, correct Erik?" Erik sheepishly walked towards her from his hiding spot behind a statue.

"Well, old habits die hard." He stopped walking as Madame Giry turned to him and he caught the glint of metal from inside her cloak. She followed his glance and then shrugged.

"You did not really think that I would come alone, unarmed, to meet a possible murderer, did you?"

Erik shook his head. "Of course not, but you know me better then anyone else and you know that I would never murder anyone."

"Yes, but this are scary times, Erik, and one can not be too careful. Now, I will trust you when I hear the truth. What really happened?"

Erik explained the note, the mysterious man, the pile of papers and how he had gotten the note from Madame Giry. She listened to all of this calmly, no emotion showing on her face. When he was done, she gave a sigh and nodded.

"Yes, that does sound like the truth, no matter how incredible it is. But I now worry for Christine. If this man is after her, he may harm her if she refuses to give into his demands. You must go to her and guard her, even if it means you must take her back down to the Lair. This man seems as though he will never give up his quest for her, even if it means hurting her in the process. Please, please protect her Erik. I love her as though she was my second daughter. She must never come to harm, or I will have betrayed her father's trust. Now, go to her. I will find some excuse why she has left and you hide her in the Lair, because it is not safe for her or anyone else until this man is caught. And you must also convince her of your innocence or you will not have any wife to protect."

Erik nodded and ran back inside. He took the shortest way possible until he came to Meg's room. He slowly opened a secret door near the ceiling where he could look inside without being noticed.

He peered through and stopped breathing when he beheld his angel sleeping peacefully on the bed. Her hair created a halo around her face and her white nightgown made her almost seem unreal. She looked so peaceful and content that Erik was almost afraid to wake her up. But he knew that he must or precious time would be lost.

He quietly opened the secret passage above her head and slipped into the room, landing lightly on his feet next to the bed. He was unsure as to how to wake her up without giving her a heart attack, but he eventually decided that just shaking her arm would do. He gently took her arm and shook it, causing her to stir. Her eyes opened and she looked around her in confusion. When she spotted Erik, her eyes widened and Erik prepared for the scream or slap that she would give him.

But what she did shocked him even more. She jumped up and wrapped herself around Erik, planting her lips firmly on his in a passionate kiss. This embrace was held until they both ran out of breath and Christine drew back.

The anger and hatred that he had expected from her was no where to be seen on her features, only love and gratitude.

"Oh Erik, you have no idea how happy I am to see you!"

"Well, yes, I am happy to see you as well, but, Christine, there is something I need to explain to you..."

Christine quickly hushed him with another kiss before she said, "Oh, you do not need to worry, I know that you are innocent and that you never killed anyone!"

The relief and confusion that filled Erik almost overwhelmed him, but he had no time to think about it as Christine pulled him into another passionate kiss and leaned back on to the bed, taking him with her.

**Awww, they made up :) I love love, don't you? Well, hopefully you do or you would not be reading this story! Yes, I am late again, but PLEASE REVIEW and let me know if this chapter was worth the wait. I hope to update on schedule again, so cross your fingers. Until next chapter, Li Li **


	28. Love Goes Home

**After such a great chapter last time (I love romance and making up), I hope that you all like this one just as much. ENJOY!**

Christine slowly opened her eyes, wishing that she would not have to leave the lands of the most wonderful dream she had. She knew that she was probably going to have to talk to the police that day, but she was not ready to leave her little world and face the cold harsh reality of the murde....something moved underneath her. She sprung up straight, prepared to fight who ever it was that was in her bed. But she realized she was in no position to fight as she pulled the sheet up to cover herself. She was now scared that she had been raped by one of those evil men who were trying to kill Erik. Oh if only she had been more careful! If only she had had someone protect her at night! But the tears that had begun to flow were cut off when she saw who it was that was in her bed.

The white mask shimmered against the light and Erik rolled over so he was fully facing her. Christine was numb for a moment before everything hit her in the face.

"Erik!" His eyes snapped open and he sat up straight, his fists clenched, ready to fight. But before he could spring into action, Christine had jumped on him and was now in the process of kissing every square inch of his face, ripping his mask off so she could kiss the skin underneath. Erik relaxed and kissed her face as well, both of them just loving being this close and being able to touch each other once again.

Now that her initial surprise had calmed down, Christie pulled back breathlessly. "Erik, oh my goodness, Erik. You are really here. Does that mean that last night was not a dream after all?"

Erik raised one eyebrow and chuckled. "Well, if your dream meant, um, making up for the first time in quite a while, then yes, it is true." Christine blushed but could not wipe the grin off her face.

"Then I am glad that I woke up this morning to see you again."

"Good, I am happy that you are happy. But Christine," Erik's face darkened, "How did you know that I am innocent of that murder? You said that you knew I was innocent last night, but I was unable to ask you about that before we began focused on, other things."

Christine shuddered slightly at the memory of that night as she explained it to Erik. Erik's face became full of rage, but he held Christine close when she was done.

"Well, that was a night I wished you had never gone through, but at least you are unharmed and know that I really am innocent of that crime."

Christine smiled up at him. "I am too. Now you have to explain to me where you were that night and all that time since. I have been so worried and confused, but I was never able to find you and ask you all my questions."

Erik explained to her all that had happened with the man, the shooting and with Madame Giry. When he was done, Christine began to get dressed quickly. "If they really is a danger for me out there, then I suggest that we should not waste anymore time and get going now."

Erik nodded and began to get dressed as well. Once they were both ready, Christine left a note for Meg explaining that Madame Giry would tell her what had happened, and the two quickly climbed up into the alcove above the room. Erik quickly led Christine through the twisting and turning corridors until he lit a torch and Christine knew that they were now underground. Erik kept leading her through the passages, so many that Christine was completely confused as to where they were, but knew that Erik was trying to keep anyone from following them.

When they finally emerged onto the water after what seemed like hours, Christine was glad to sit down in the boat and watch the water she Erik rowed them along to their home.

When they reached the land, Erik helped Christine up and the two relaxed in the main room. Christine was relieved to be relaxing in her own home once again, the danger seeming far away now. She was now with her husband and nothing seemed to be able to hurt her now. Now she could just sit back and enjoy her time with Erik, until the baby was born and she would have something else to focus on.

The baby! Christine's eyes widened in shock. How could she had forgotten her baby? After all the worry and hormones she had had, a simple murder completely blocked the baby from her thoughts?

Christine ran her hand down her belly and was pleased to feel the slightly larger lump underneath her clothing. She knew that she was now about 6 months from the baby's due date and would be able to focus on the birth now that she was not going to have to sing in the operas anymore.

Erik noticed her sudden change in mood and came over to sit down next to her, a concerned look on his face.

"Christine, what is the matter?" Christine smiled.

"Nothing, nothing at all. In fact, things just got better. I remembered that we are going to have a baby in a few months time." Erik's own eyes widened and Christine knew that he must have forgotten as well.

"Of course, the baby! I can not believe that I forgot about our little girl. I am sorry little one," Erik said as he placed his hand upon Christine's.

Christine rolled her eyes. "Must we go over this time and time again? It is a boy, not a girl. That is official, so stop trying to convince me otherwise."

Erik shook his head, but did not respond. They both just wanted to sit back, forget all that had happened, and enjoy what was hopefully to be their new lives together.

**Ahh, I love romance and fluffiness:) As usual, PLEASE REVIEW and let me know if it was fluffy, not fluffy enough or overstuffed with fluff. Until next chapter, Li Li**


	29. Laughter From Love

**Hello everyone! Just to let you all know, this chapter will be pretty uneventful and will just be fluffy(a little), but still, I hope you all ENJOY!**

Christine relaxed back into her pillows with a sigh. It had been a month now since Erik had taken her down here and she was in perfect bliss. They had settled into such a peaceful routine that Christine now had a hard time remembering the danger that had driven them down here in the first place.

Every morning at eight o'clock, Erik would bring breakfast to her in bed and they would sit and eat, talking about everything under the sun as Erik read headlines from the paper to her.

After breakfast, they would then get dressed and the pair would go and doing their music. Christine would sing and Erik would play the organ, their two passions for music and their love causing the sounds that erupted to sound as if they came from Heaven itself.

Lunch would be spent in the dinging room and then Christine would do whatever cleaning she needed to do while Erik went to the door to the surface where Madame Giry would give him his groceries and other products.

When the two were together again, they would each curl up with a book and pass the afternoon reading the massive library that Erik had grown in his lifetime. Of course talking about the books and other subjects would break in, but on a whole, the afternoon was spent quietly relaxing.

At five o'clock, Christine would make dinner alone, a rule that she had established after Erik had almost broken a chair jumping up because she was adding a little too much salt to the sauce. After that, Erik was now banned from the kitchen during dinnertime, leaving him to sit in the dinging room and glare at the ceiling.

After dinner, the two would return to the parlor and spend the rest of the evening playing board games, composing songs or simply snuggling up in front of the fire.

Just before nine o'clock, Erik would draw Christine a bath and she would soak for a bit before Erik would join her and the two would enjoy it until they began to look like prunes and decide that it was time for bed.

Once in bed, they would snuggle(if sleep was on their minds) and fall into the peaceful, dreamy state of sleep.

Christine stared up at the ceiling, enjoying the thought of what lay before her for the day. The thing that made everyday perfect was the fact that it was spent with Erik, the perfect husband, who never yelled at her or raised his voice...

A loud shout and strong cursing interrupted her metal praise of her husband. Christine rolled her eyes and got out of bed. Obviously Erik had still not mastered the art of not burning pancakes and she must now rescue him from a ruined breakfast.

But hey, at least her life was now MOSTLY perfect.

Yet another month passed and Christine stood in front of her mirror, glaring at her body.

She was now about seven months along and it was showing. She was thrilled that her child was still developing and would soon be born, but unfortunately that left her without a single thing to wear. She was wanting to dress up in one of her more seductive outfits for Erik since he had been so helpful in getting her everything she could ever want, but now NONE of her dresses fit, not even the plain ones. She had known that she would get too big for her clothes, but she had not known how big! She looked like she was pregnant with a cow in all her dresses, and now the only thing she had to wear that would fit was her nightgown, her underclothes and a robe of Erik's. Other then that, she had ripped, pulled and tried to push herself unsuccessfully into her clothing.

"Christine, are you ready yet?" Christine inwardly groaned at Erik's call.

"No, not yet. I just need a few more minutes."

"Christine, I do not think that you need to spend so much time getting dressed, it is just dinner, nothing special. Besides, what are you doing anyway?" Christine heard his step as he approached and frantically began to stuff all her unwearable clothes back into the closet.

"Um, just a minute, I am not presentable yet." She heard him give a chuckle.

"Christine, I think we can both agree that I have seen you in much less then 'presentable'." Christine blushed, but kept on stuffing until she heard him walk into their bedroom and stand behind her. Christine slowly turned around, embaressed at the mess she had made and prepared for the barrage of reproves against her slight obsession with looking nice for dinner. But she was not prepared for how he really reacted to her.

He gave the room a quick once over, opened his mouth to complain to her, but stopped when he looked at her. He stared at her for several minutes until he suddenly started to, of all things, laugh. Hard.

Christine looked down at her outfit and giggled a little herself. She was still wearing his robe, but it made her look even worse then her dresses. It was loose everywhere on her except her belly area, and there it clung to her like a glue, making it look like the size of a boulder and the rest of her as small as a stick. Her hair was also a mess, statically from dressed being pulled off and onto her head, over and over again. But even though she knew that she probably looked like a clown, she was upset with Erik for laughing at her over it.

She glared at Erik as he slowly sank to the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried to catch his breath and laugh at the same time.

Needless to say, Erik spent an hour sleeping on the couch that night until Christine's hormones kicked in and she let back into bed after he calmed her down when she went into hysterics over supposedly being cruel to him and what not. Eventually their day ended well and all were forgiven.

**Awwww, I love fluffiness! Yes, I know, after all that action in the previous chapters and I go and write a uneventful, boring chapter like this. All I can say is, DEAL WITH IT! :) I have to vary the chapters at least a little bit, so PLEASE REVIEW and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	30. Love Dresses Up

**More fluffiness!!! Yay! Or that may be nay from some of you, but I do not care:) ENJOY!**

Christine groaned even before she opened her eyes. Yet AGAIN, Erik was not sleeping next to her and she now left with a large, empty cold spot next to her. Why Erik never felt the need to stay with his wife until she woke up was beyond her, but no matter what she tried he would not stay THERE. Oh, how he frustrated her sometimes. But that was probably just one of the reasons she loved him, or at least put up with him. Of course, she could always try the couch again...

"Good morning, my angel." Christine's evil thoughts toward Erik disappeared at the sound of his deep, velvety voice. She opened her eyes and smiled up at his face.

"Good morning to you as well. Oooh, what is that you have there?" Christine asked, eyeing the covered tray he held in his hands.

"This, my dear, is your breakfast." Erik set it down next to her as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She lifted the lid off and smiled at the pile of eggs, fruit and a pancake that sat before her. Erik had been trying to get her to eat healthier, but he still allowed her pancakes in the morning.

"Thank you, Erik, you are still keeping the title of Perfect Husband, even if you do tend to leave your wife alone in bed in the mornings." Erik just rolled his eyes as she dug in.

When she was done and had pushed the plate back, Erik pushed her back down onto the bed as she tried to get up. "No, my dear, you stay here. I have a surprise for you and you will ruin the full effect if you get up."

Christine huffed and folded her arms across her chest, not happy about being left in bed again. But thankfully Erik was not gone long before he returned with a large bag in his hand. "Okay, not close your eyes." Christine complied. The sound of something being pulled from the bag aroused her curiosity, but she knew that Erik would not make her wait long. "Alright, now open them!" Christine opened them and gasped.

It was a dress! It was a dark blue, with white trim and had a simple, yet elegant design about it. Christine jumped up, or jumped as much as she could carrying 20 extra pounds of weight, and grabbed the dress. "Oh, Erik, it is beautiful. Thank you. But, when can I wear it."

"Today, I had it custom made for you to wear without looking like a stick with a cow attached to the front of her." Christine glared at that comparison, but then ran to the changing screen to try it on.

When she emerged, Erik could not help but be shocked at how beautiful she looked. The dress flowed right over her belly, making it appear much smaller, and the blue really brought the attention up to her face, where she was blushing as his eyes looked over body. She walked up to him and deeply kissed him. "Thank you so much, Erik, you have no idea how much this means to me. But," Christine frowned, "I think that I will need more then one dress to hold me over for another two months before the baby is born."

Erik grinned. "Well, that was what the second part of your surprise is, my most beautiful angel."

"Second part? What second part?"

"I decided that you would need at least one decent item of clothing to wear as you will be seen in public and I do not think that my robe would do the job."

Christine's eyes widened. "We are going up to the surface?" She squealed.

"Of course, because I do not want to be the only one to have to choose clothes for you. Now come, we must get going if we are to get to our appointment at the dressmaker's in time."

Christine could hardly contain her excitement as she put on her shawl and followed Erik to the boat. Thankfully Erik did not make a remark when the boat sunk down a little under all the weight that Christine put into it, but he did smirk a little while trying to hold back his laughter. Christine chose to ignore him and enjoy the fact that she was going dress shopping and was going to be able to see the sun for the first time in a month.

**Yes, short chapter, I know. But I have no more inspiration and this was the perfect place to stop, so DEAL WITH IT and while you wait, please review! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li**

**P.S. Sorry for this being such a short chapter to celebrate ~~~30 CHAPTERS!~~~ Yay! We made it! Hopefully we will make it for another 10 chapters, so until then, THANK YOU for hanging on this long and for being such loyal fans! Go give yourself a pat on the back for me! Li Li**


	31. Love Goes Outside

**Okay, a little later then usual, but I do hope that you all ENJOY!**

The smell of fresh hot coco, trees and other unknown scents hit Christine before she even saw them. They emerged from one of Erik's numerous secret passages out into a park on the surface. It was winter, but the trees wore the snow on their limbs quite well. The hot coco came from a vender at the edge of the street who was selling it to the few people who passed by. Christine could not help but skip a little and dance in the sunshine that shimmered all around her.

She ran straight to the hot coco vender and grabbed a cup of the warm drink while Erik paid the man. She let Erik lead her down the street, paying no mind to the people around her. To her, it was just Erik and herself spending the day outside, and everyone else faded into mere shadows.

When they rounded a corner, Erik opened a door and let her into a dress shop. It was simple on the outside, but inside it was full of every fabric, button, belt, thread and bow imaginable. The lady who stood organizing a row of ribbon turned when they entered and smiled at Erik.

"Ah, Mousier Destler, it is so wonderful to see you again. And I see that you brought your lovely wife with you as well today." She gave a short curtsy to Christine, showing of a life well taught in proper etiquette. "It is a honor to finally meet you, Madame Destler, I am Anne DeFrost. I see that you are enjoying your new dress."

Christine looked down at her dress and nodded. "It is magnificent, I am thrilled to have something to beautiful to wear outside finally."

"Well, of course, a lady should always have a new dress to wear when she goes out." Anne turned to Erik again and said, "If you will just wait out here, Mousier, your wife may come with me and we can begin properly measuring her and deciding on her new wardrobe. Follow me, if you will, Madame." Christine followed her into the back to a room that was for trying on and altering clothes.

After Anne confirmed the measurements she did have were exactly what Christine needed, she left and brought back a large pile of various styles of gowns to try on. Christine tried dress after dress, after dress on until she finally narrowed her favorites down to three different styles. They all had modest necklines and were not to tight that they clung to her belly too much. One had long sleeves and was a beautiful shade of navy blue, the second one had short sleeves and was pink, while the third one had mid-length sleeves and was a deep burgundy.

When she finally emerged, Erik stood up and paid for the three dresses that Anne would begin to make and finish in a week. After Christine thanked her for all her time, the couple left the shop and went on their way.

Erik decided that it was time for Christine to eat after two hours of dress shopping and the two decided on a small café off to the side of a less busy street. After ordering a simple lunch, Christine told Erik all about the different dresses she had tried on, sometimes making Erik laugh at how ridiculous it had looked and sometimes making him shocked at how much skin a dress could actually show. Erik was ready to go back home after they had finished eating, reminding Christine that every second they stayed out in the open risked their chances of being discovered. Christine reluctantly agreed and the two walked back the way they had come, grabbing another cup of hot coco on the way.

As they disappeared out of site behind the small bunch of buildings that disguised the hidden door to the underworld, they talked of everything from the weather to the hot coco to even how funny some of the ladies in the café looked. Peace and happiness surrounded them.

If only they knew who had been following them all day and who had smirked at the plan that formed in his mind of what he would be able to do soon.

**Uh oh, what will happen to Erik and Christine NOW? I guess you and I will have to wait until next chapter. Yes, I know, short and not much romance but I have no inspiration for it today, so this will have to do for not. Please Review! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	32. The Party for Love

**Alright then, here is the next chapter and I hope that you all ENJOY!**

THUMP. The noise echoed throughout the cavern as the barge hit the embankment. Erik stepped off and then reached to help Christine get off without falling into the water. Even though it was cold now that the fire had gone out since the pair had left, Christine paid it no mind. She was much to filled with the happiness and memory of the outdoors.

As she watched Erik tie the boat up, she could not help but feel intense gratitude towards him. She knew how much of a struggle it must have been for Erik to go above ground and in front of people. He normally never left their home unless to go on errands, and then Christine was certain that he must have some sort of system to keep himself at least mostly hidden from people, either that or he just threatened the people he bought from with death if they ever told anyone about him. Either way, he never allowed very many people to see his face, and they had obviously been seen by many people that day. Yes, he was an incredible husband and she was ever so lucky to be married to him. Christine wiped the tears that had begun to stream down her face. Stupid hormones! She should not be crying about this, but her heart thumped loudly and the tears fell even faster.

When Erik turned to her again, Christine could not help the sudden desire that came over her and grabbed him by the collar, kissing him hard. Erik obviously was a little surprised at this sudden change in mood, but did not bother arguing with her. Instead, he lifted her up, not struggling a bit, and carried Christine back to their bedroom, carefully avoiding anything that stood in their way. Yes, hormones were annoying, but sometimes they did have their perks for sudden emotional changes.

Above their heads, in the office of the managers, Madame Giry stood between them as they argued over what to do for the upcoming New Year's Eve ball that would be in a little over two months. Both of them wanted a different theme, music and even type of wine offered! The only thing that would be the same was the fact that it would be a masquerade, as usual, but they even argued over what types of masks they should both wear! Madame Giry was just about ready to slap their heads like little boys, but thankfully Mousier Lare opened the door at that point and entered, interrupting the two men.

"Ah, Mousier Lare, we were just discussing the plans for the ball this year. I believe that we should go for a Spring theme, reminding everyone that the wonderful season is just around the corner." Mousier Joone explained.

"Or, as I was thinking, we should go for a more exotic theme, such as India or China perhaps. I hear that it is all the rage in London and other such cities." Mousier Lamar interjected, glaring at Mousier Joone. Mousier Lare smiled poiletly at both me.

"Those sound like wonderful ideas, gentlemen, but I have a suggestion of my own. How about if we center the entire ball around the Phantom of the Opera?"

The two managers gasped and Madame Giry could not help but widen her eyes herself. "But, Mousier Lare, why would we want to have HIM be the center of such a festive and happy event?" Mousier Joone asked.

"Yes, darkness and death are the only things that seem to follow him. Ever since those two murders, people would be repelled by any mention of the Phantom." Mousier Lamar agreed.

"On the contrary, I believe that it would attract more people then you could imagine. People love to follow scandals and horrors. If we were to have everyone dress as the Phantom, white masks and all, and have everything set up so people could hide away, get lost in mazes or even be frightened by an occasional scare, I believe that we will have the most talked about ball in all of Paris and even France. And just think of how much publicity and money could be made off of such an event? If people see what an extraordinary event we can pull off, they will want to see what our operas are all about as well. Now, do you two not agree that this would be the most productive, money making event we could have all year?"

Of course the two men had to agree, after all, making money and keeping Mousier Lare happy were their two highest priorities at the moment. But as the men began to settle on the details of everything, Madame Giry spoke up.

"Monsieurs, I do not believe that this is a good idea. The Phantom may take offense to this and become angry. He may even decide to show up and put a stop to the entire thing altogether!"

The managers looked at Mousier Lare expectantly, wondering how he would act. But he just smiled and said, "Madame Giry, would you please come with me and talk? You make a good point, but you two," he nodded to the managers, "can keep planning while we are gone. Madame." Mousier Lare took her arm and led her out of the office and into the hallway.

Once the door was shut, Mousier Lare turned to Madame Giry, his happy and smiling attitude gone and replaced by a frown. "Madame, I do believe that you are attempting to put a complete stop to the ball, am I correct?" Before she could answer, he spoke again. "Of course not, I believe that you just have your little friend the Phantom in mind and do not want to want to upset him. That is understandable, especially considering the fact that he has been accused of two murders. Now wait," He lifted his hand to silence her as she tried to speak up, "I said 'accused', I do not believe that he did either of them. I believe that someone has a deep and sinister plot against him and wants to make us believe that he is a killer. Well, do not worry, he will be fine with this ball. Besides, as I said, the money and publicity will make the Opera House much money, you want that for us, do you not? Because, if I was to find out that you tried to keep things from going as planned, I may have to consider putting to back on the market as a new unemployed, FORMER ballet instructor. Now, I know that you have a new, rich son-in-law, but I sense that you would hate to have to depend on your daughter and her husband for your lively-hood. Please keep in mind, Madame Giry, that I hold your job in my hand and I may decide to drop it at any point. Good day, Madame." Mousier Lare opened the door, leaving behind a stunned Madame Giry.

"But Mousier, the Phantom WILL come to the ball, you must be warned of that." Mousier Lare turned back to her and grinned at her once again, but this time she felt as though an evil glint filled his eyes.

"That is exactly what I am hoping for."

**Wow, that was a long speech from him, but I do hope that you all liked it. PLEASE REVIEW, especially since this is a longer chapter then the last two. Until next chapter, Li Li**


	33. Love in the Morning

**Okay, sorry for the long update, but I promised once a week and I am trying to at least keep that promise. Please ENJOY!**

Christine awoke the next morning to humming. At first she just thought that it was her ears being odd, but then she began to notice that the humming was actually the tune to a song. And then there was the feeling of someone rubbing her back. Christine could not help but smile as she recognized those fingers. Erik. Erik had decided to actually stay in bed and see her wake up. She rolled over until the fingers were running up and down her arm, and opened her eyes.

Erik smiled down at her as he leaned against the bed. "Good morning, my angel."

"Good morning, dear husband. I see that you decided to stay in bed today."

Erik laughed. "Ah, yes, I decided that perhaps, since your anger is always nearby, that I would stay here and keep it at bay." He laughed even harder as she grabbed her pillow and hit him upside the head. But he finally stopped when she continued to hit him and grabbed his own pillow.

The pillow fight that ensued lasted for several minutes before the pair, exhausted, laughing and covered in feathers, laid back down on the bed.

Erik leaned down over her and kissed her. It grew deeper and deeper, but was suddenly stopped by the loud growl of Christine's stomach. They both looked down at it, and then burst out into fresh laughter. Erik quickly got up and put on a robe before turning back to her and giving her a robe as well.

"I see that our daughter will not let you go very long with a new batch of food to eat."

Christine glared at him. "You mean our son, of course?"

Erik shook his head, smirking, as he headed towards the kitchen. "No, daughter. I really do not understand you, Christine. Why would you be so mean to our daughter as to call her a boy?"

"Oh, YOU!" Christine grabbed her pillow and threw what was left of it at his head, but it missed as he ran laughing out of the room. Christine put on her robe and began to pick the feathers out of her hair, fuming at Erik but grinning herself.

In the Opera House above, preparations were already underway for the ball. The managers were busy frantically trying to get invitations out to every important person they could think of, while the ballet rats and Madame Giry continued to practice the opera they had been working on. Mousier Lare enjoyed simply staying in his office discussing with the workers the decorations and set up of the entire thing.

Madame Giry hated the whole idea for the ball, but kept her mouth shut around most people, fearing for her job. But that did not stop her from complaining to Meg about the whole thing, fuming left and right, while Meg just continued with what she needed to do, occasionally giving her mother an encouraging nod.

But Raoul was also busy among all this. He knew that Mousier Lare, from what he had been able to see of him, that he knew him from somewhere. The where part was what was bugging him. He felt that it was important, but nothing he could pull from various events he had attended seem to fit.

So, he did what he could do: he hired an investigator for the job. The man was a bit shady, but he knew his way around people and could get information on anyone for you. Raoul had not heard from him for a week, but he felt that the man was onto something, so decided against contacting him.

Finally, that afternoon, he opened his mail and found a letter from the man. Raoul opened it, and his heart almost stopped completely. He jumped up and began to run down the hall to the manager's office. They needed to know this bit of important information!

But, just as he rounded the corner by the offices, he felt someone grab his hand and rip the letter from him. Raoul turned around and spotted a bit of a black cloak disappearing above his head. He quickly climbed up the ladder and ran down the planks, trying to catch the culprit and not fall to his death at the same time. He ran as fast as he could, but found that the man had disappeared.

Not wanting to face defeat, he ran faster. But when he was above the stage, where the ballet rats were practicing, he felt the board he was sanding on begin to wiggle. He looked up to spot the man ahead of him, the board being pulled up by him. Raoul tried to turn around and run back, but it was too late.

The last thing he remembered as he fell towards the stage below him was the sound of screams and then...

Blackness.

**Oh no!!! What happened to Raoul? Now I know that he is normally the bad guy here in Phantom of the Opera land(and in my last story) but I hope that you now consider him a sorta good gut, or at least a guy you do not want to die. Right? :( :) Okay, now that I have left you in suspense, PLEASE REVIEW and tell me to get my butt writing faster, and until next chapter, Li Li**

**P.S. Also, I do apologize if you guys are a little upset that Erik and Christine were just half the story and in just fluff. But I though that this would be a nice change of pace. I hope you agree!**


	34. Love Contemplates

**Here is the next chapter, I do hope that you will all ENJOY!**

Madame Giry paced in front of the door to Meg and Raoul's room. She was still shaking slightly at what had happened. The doctor was inside, examining Raoul, while Meg sat in the corner weeping.

Madame Giry had been watching the ballet rats practice when, all of the sudden, Raoul had fallen from above them, but thankfully, he got caught onto some rope that was hanging and broke his arm, but thankfully it broke his fall. The doctor had been summoned and Raoul had been moved to the room, where he was now being looked over.

Madame Giry sent up many prayers of thanks for Raoul actually surviving what would have been a deadly fall. She knew not if it had been an accident, or perhaps the murderer of the Opera House had something to do with it. All she knew was that Raoul was alive, and Meg was needing a mother's comfort. Madame Giry sat down next to Meg and wrapped her arms around her. Meg continued to cry harder, but eventually fell asleep.

The door opened and the doctor stepped out. He spoke in barely a whisper, nodding to Meg. "Mousier DeChangy is alive and only moderately injured. He has suffered a broken arm and a twisted ankle. His ribs are fine, and he only has minor bruises on the rest of his body. He has still not woken up, but that is expected this early on. Let him sleep, and if he does not wake up in a week, call me once again and I will come to check on him. Good day, Madame."

Madame Giry nodded and sent up yet another prayer of thanks. She looked down at her sleeping daughter and kissed her. She would tell her when Meg awoke the good news, but for now she must make sure that she slept well. Madame Giry looked up into the darkness, almost imagining she saw a man in a cloak above her, but it vanished when she blinked. She shook her head. Obviously all this stress was getting to her mind. She must get more rest and focus on her work more. Also, she must try and contact Erik and Christine to make certain that they were alright.

Speaking of which, the pair was completely oblivious to what was happening above them. After the pillow fight and breakfast in the morning, the two had relaxed the rest of the day singing. When Erik finally decided that Christine was working to hard, the two went and sat in the parlor while reading.

Christine tried to focus on the romance she was reading, but her hand and mind kept going to her belly, where a new life was being created. She could hardly wait to hold her child in her arms, but she was also fearful. She had of course heard all the stories of miscarriages and babies dying in and after birth. She did not think that she could handle having her child die. She glanced over at Erik, who seemed to be immersed in the history book he was reading. She knew better then anyone that having their child die would kill Erik. He had lived most of his life unloved, until she had come along and he had found something to live for. And now, the miracle that had been created out of that love could possible be ripped from them both. Christine gave her belly another rub and went back to her book. She could not do anything about it, if it was God's will. She could only pray and hope that God would allow this blessing to live on Earth with them.

Unknown to Christine, Erik had also been distracted from his book by thoughts of the baby. He was worried not only for the baby making it through the birth, but also Christine. He had heard of women, seemingly healthy, dying from childbirth, barely living long enough to see the child. He inwardly shuddered to think of Christine giving one last look at their child before finally leaving this world. His whole world would be crushed by her death. He might not even want to live anymore, even if the child made it. He might just give it to Madame Giry and then go back into his hole to die. He did not want to think of any of that, but he knew that his life would end at Christine's death. He shook his head slightly and focused on the book again. He really must try and calm down. Focusing on an unknown, and possibly deadly future would do him no good. He must focus on the present and the fact that he was with his love, and that his life was perfect right then.

**Okay, what do you think? I know that this was shorter then usual, but my inspiration cut short. PLEASE REVIEW and tell me if this chapter was even worth the time it took to type. I quite like the new perspectives of the childbirth: Christine worried about the baby dying and Erik getting crushed, while Erik worried about Christine dying and giving the baby up. Oh, how different the mind works in our favorite couple :) Until next chapter, Li Li**


	35. Love Begins

**Okay, I am sorry for the wait, really I am! (Ducks from the throwing tomatoes) But I was just really busy(ducks the shoes). Alright! I know, there is no excuse for this. So please, forgive and forget? (Ducks as the chairs are thrown too) Okay, you guys can consider that AFTER you read the chapter, and then you can tell me if it was even worth the bother. So, please, ENJOY. (Runs off stage as the floor begins to get ripped up and thrown after her)**

The plans for the ball went on as usual, with no more incidents. But that still did not ease Madame Giry's mind. She had been too busy to contact Erik, so she did not feel safe not knowing who was lurking in the rafters above her. She wished she could find time to sit and write a note, but the ballet rats were harder to teach now that the ball was getting closer, which meant new dresses and a long deserved break for the holidays. She did not even have Meg to help; with Raoul still in a coma, she never left his side unless absolutely necessary, which helping round up the ballet rats was not in that category.

The doctor had come after a week, but nothing he could do worked to make Raoul wake up. Now Meg was worried sick that Raoul might never wake up, or worse, he might just die and never have a chance. Madame Giry did her best to help Meg, but even she had her doubts about what Meg and Raoul's future held.

Suddenly the ballet rats in front of her stretching jumped up, squealing, and ran towards the entrance. Madame Giry shouted at them to come back, but her voice was drowned out in all the excitement as the workers joined the girls at the entrance. She groaned and followed them, hoping that this rude interruption was important enough to disturb her entire rehearsal.

When she arrived at the entrance, her own eyes widened. For there before her was the workmen opening crate after crate of the gorgeous decorations that were to transform the Opera House into the Phantom's Lair, as Mousier Lare wanted to call it. Enormous black candlesticks, deep red drapery, gothic statues of gargoyles and other hideous creatures, massive amounts of red roses with yards of black ribbon to go around them, and red skulls to go in every corner and adorn every table were picked up and talked over by everyone. Madame Giry could not help but smile at the obvious misrepresentation of Erik, but she knew that some parts he would like, such as the flowers and draperies, although she had no idea where the gargoyles came from.

But what really created the most excitement was the dresses that Mousier Lare had ordered for all the ballet rats to wear: deep red gowns with black accents in the trim and folds. Each girl's dress was slightly different, making her feel unique, while all of them held the same style and effect. But the one mandatory article of clothing for everyone was a white mask, much like the one that Erik really did wear, with only half the face showing. The girls shouted and giggles as they tried them on, but Madame Giry just watched them with a worried frown. She did not like taking something that was so almost vital to Erik's being and making them play things.

Erik depended on that mask to keep is deformity hidden, to make him feel strong and not the mere freak show attraction like he was when he was younger. Madame Giy could only say a pray and hope that Erik would not be too angry when he heard that he was once again an attraction for people's sick pleasure. She spun on her heel and headed back to the stage to help some of the girls who had come back practice.

Over the next two months, everyone worked as fast as possible to get the Opera House looking perfect, while still having shows for Paris. When it was but two weeks until the big night, Madame Giry leaned undressed and got ready for bed, but did not get in. She felt as though a large store of energy was built up in her and would not let her rest. She had been feeling restless all day, as though she was waiting for some big event to happen so she could get rid of all this energy. But she had no idea what it could be. She sat down in her chair and began to work on some mending. If that was the case, she would stay up all night if she had to, but she prayed that nothing bad was going to happen that night.

That same evening, Erik brought some dinner to Christine while she lay in bed. Not that she was ill. No, Erik was just paranoid that she would get hurt now that her due date was in just a couple days. Christine wanted to refuse his help, but she felt exhausted, even though her entire day had been spent lying in bed reading. So she ate her small meal before leaning back against the pillows. Erik took her plate to the kitchen, and wondered if he should bother cleaning it before going to bed, when Christine suddenly shouted for him.

Erik ran to the bedroom, where he found Christine leaning forward, her hand on her belly. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Get Madame Giry, the baby is coming!"

Erik did not need to be told twice. He had run this situation through his head thousands of times, but the look of Christine in the real thing made him almost wonder if he could run across the water instead of taking the boat. He decided against it and rowed as fast as his arms could go, sending up a pray to the God that Christine and Madame Giry both believed in, praying that Christine would not die and that he would continue to have his angel on earth with him.

**Oh boy, it is finally time! After chapters of waiting for it, it has finally arrived: Christine is going to give birth! Hopefully we will find out what will happen next chapter and all your impatience will be put to rest. Or, I could just wait for a couple more chapters and talk about other minor characters if you prefer...(ducks behind the curtain as the readers head toward her with pitchforks and torches) Or I could just write it in next chapter, yeah, I will do that (everyone settles down again). Well, that was close. But really, I will write it in next chapter. But I still need you guys to review this chapter or(ducks behind curtain again) I might just take longer to write it. Just a thought for you guys to consider (evil laugh). So, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and I will write the next chapter as soon as possible. Until next(BIG EVENT) chapter, Li Li.**


	36. Born of Love

**Okay, here is the chapter that you have all been waiting for, so ENJOY!**

When Erik finally reached the surface, he flew down the hallways until he reached Madame Giry's door. He knocked frantically, worried that any minute wasted would bring death to Christine. When the door opened, he was stunned to find that Madame Giry was wide awake and wearing a robe, carrying her medical bag. She nodded at him as she hurried past him.

"Yes, I am ready to go, and yes, I did know that the only person who knock so hard at this hour would be you, so let us go."

Erik ran with her, the two of them reaching the boat in record time. As he rowed as fast as he could, Madame Giry asked brief questions concerning Christine and what had happened. Erik answered as best he could, but he could not get any emotion from Madame Giry except for a straight mouth, meaning that she was in deep thought.

When they finally reached the shore, Erik led Madame Giry to the bedroom, where they found Christine still lying there, taking deep breaths as she hugged her stomach. She looked up and tried to smile at Madame Giry, but it came out as a grimace as another wave of pain hit her.

Madame Giry began to rummage through her bag as she asked Christine questions. Erik knew that he should leave, but he could not stand seeing Christine in this much pain and not being able to take some onto himself. He shuffled his feet as he stood there, trying to prolong leaving.

Suddenly, Christine gasped and fell back on her pillows, grimacing as she bit back a scream. Madame Giry quickly moved into position and said, "Christine, I can see the baby's head, the baby is coming much faster then normal, so just push when you feel that you need to, alright?"

Christine nodded, her eyes closed and her arm reaching out for something. "Erik! Erik, I need you!"

He was at her side in a second, holding her hand as she groaned. He looked at Madame Giry, worried that she would make him leave, but she only nodded and went back to work. He gave a sigh of relief and focused all his attention on Christine. He noticed that she was now beginning to sweat, and he wished that the baby would just come out and not make his dear Christine work so hard.

Christine leaned forward, squeezing Erik's hand as if her very life depended on it, and pushed. Erik closed his eyes along with her, trying to will some of his own strength to her so she would have a lighter load. Suddenly, Christine fell back again, catching her breath. Erik did not understand this new reaction until he heard the small cry come from by Madame Giry. The cry slowly got louder and louder until it was a full fledged wail. Christine opened her eyes as Madame Giry set the baby in her arms. Erik looked down at the baby and suddenly felt a wave of love flow through him. This little creature was his child, the product of the love that he and Christine had created. Madame Giry stepped back and smiled at the happy couple.

"Congratulations, it is a son."

Christine looked up at Erik and gave him a small smile. "See, I told you so." Erik just smiled at her and brushed his fingertip along his son's small head. Maybe having a son would not be so bad after all.

All of the sudden, Christine gasped again and her face grimaced in pain. Madame Giry quickly handed the baby to Erik and went back to her original position. Erik tried to hold the baby as carefully as possible, but he mind flew to the moment he had always dreaded: could this be the end of Christine? Was she dying right before his very eyes?

Madame Giry ordered Christine to push some more, which she did, while Erik held her hand and tried to balance his son in his arms at the same time.

Suddenly Christine let out a gasp and leaned back against the pillows, shock on her face as Madame Giry stood up and put another bundle into her arms.

"And, you have a daughter."

Christine smiled down at the crying baby in her arms, who seemed to be trying to reach for something in the air. Christine looked up at Erik with tears in her eyes. "I guess you were also right about a girl."

Erik did not answer, only stared in gaping shock at the girl his dear Christine held in her arms. He reached his finger down to touch her head, but was stopped by a little hand reaching up and grabbing his finger. He sat there, not knowing what to do, until Christine handed him the baby and helped Erik situate two babies in his arms. She smiled at him, as he felt tears rolling down his cheeks, and whispered, "Royden Erik and Rose Christine Destler, how does that sound, dear husband?"

Erik could only nodded as he gazed down at his children, trying to convey all the love that he felt at that moment to them in his eyes.

He was a father.

**Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww :) I love love, happiness, sappiness, sweetness, tenderness and fluff! And they were all in one chapter! See, I got you guys with the twins, did I not? :) And in case you guys were still wondering, all this banter between Erik and Christine on the baby's gender was inspired by Anakin and Padme Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. I think it was in the novelized version that they bantered over the baby's gender as the twins kicked inside Padme. So, congrats to anyone who got that right! And if you did not, oh well, I was just playing with you all.**

**Oh, and NO, this is not the end, nor is this like the beginning of a new story. The rest of the story will be written and then we will be done. So, do not fret, and join me in welcoming Rose and Royden into the Phantom of the Opera fan fiction world! And you can do that in a REVIEW, if you would like :) Until next chapter, Li Li **


	37. The Plans of Love

**Alright, I was really busy for a while. I was gone almost everyday, leaving only a small amount of time to focus on my other stuff that I needed to do, and then I also did not have any inspiration for this story. It seemed to final last chapter that I am having to force myself to continue writing, so bare with me if this chapter it short and not well written. I am having to magically pull another rabbit out of my hat after wowing the audience with one last time. So, I hope that you all ENJOY!**

Erik analyzed the instructions as he mixed the batter. He added the correct number of eggs and milk and poured it all into a pan before placing it in the oven. He glanced at the book again before checking the clock to see how long he had to wait.

"Erik!" Erik ran into the bedroom and stood next to the bed.

"What is it, my angel?" Christine blushed slightly and smiled.

"I was wondering if you could take Royden and occupy him. Rose is trying to eat but he keeps wanting to pull her back down next to him." Erik looked down and saw that Royden was indeed trying to pull Rose away from Christine's breast and set him down next to him so he would have company.

Erik could not help it as a wide smile spread across his face as he gazed down at his family. His family. Oh, how long he had always wanted to say that! He knew that Christine was his angel, his wife, but not really what he would call 'family' as much as lover of his soul. No, he now had two beautiful children and a gorgeous wife to call his family. Even though it had already been two weeks, he still felt immense love swell up in him whenever he saw his children or Christine.

Erik nodded and picked Royden up, cradling him in his arms. Royden snuggled closer and stared about him, still trying to grasp the world. Erik turned and sat down in a chair next to the bed and watch Christine. Christine gave him another smile before settling in to let Rose feed to her hearts content.

After the birth, Madame Giry had ordered Christine to stay in bed a little longer to regain her strength, but Erik had pushed that little while into two weeks, but Christine was not complaining. She was enjoying being able to spend the whole day with either one or both children in her arms, while Erik took care of all three of them and spent as much time with them as possible. Christine also enjoyed breastfeeding both of them, even though they were sometimes a little pushy, literally, about being the center of attention. But, she knew that she only had a short time to have them bond with her before they began to crawl and walk to other places.

Erik loved watching this scene, but he remembered that he had cake baking and he needed to make sure that it did not burn. He set Royden down next to Christine, giving all of them a kiss on the forehead, laughing when Rose pushed him away as she was focused, before going back to the kitchen. When he came back, leaving the cake to cool, he sat down on the bed and held Rose as Christine pulled her away and set her in his arms. Suddenly, Christine spoke up.

"Oh, Erik, when Madame Giry brought me my mail, I found an invitation to the New Years Eve ball! I know that it is only in a couple days, but I thought that perhaps we could attend. What do you think?"

Erik thought for a few moments before answering. "If you wish to go, I will attend as well. But we will need to find someone or have Madame Giry take care of Rose and Royden while we are away."

Christine gazed longingly down at the twins. "I would hate to leave them so soon, but this is a once a year event and I so wish to get out and be among people again before staying down here for the winter with the twins."

Erik frowned. "The twins and I are not people?"

Christine rolled her eyes. "Of course you all are, but I meant grown ups, and yes, you are a grown up, but I meant a grown up that is not wanting to kiss me every ten seconds."

Erik felt himself blush slightly. It was true, he had hardly been able to keep his hands off her, except for the thought that he might hurt her. For some reason, the glow of motherhood shown around her face like the halo of a heavenly angel, which was something he could not resist. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, the may be true, but I do understand what you are saying. We will go, and you can wear one of the many ball gowns you own, and no, you are not too fat for them. I can easily let them out if needed. I will have to make you a mask to wear..."

"Oh, the invitation sent a white mask with it too wear, one much like yours, that I can wear."

"Alright, then I will just need to contact Madame Giry and tell her that we are going to the ball."

Christine shook her head. "No, do not tell her that. I am afraid that she will think that we are being stupid for leaving the twins just to go upstairs. No, tell her that we are going out for dinner and a night somewhere in town to celebrate New Years."

Erik nodded before heading back to bring some cake for his bride.

**So, how was it? I was able to pull the rabbit out! Yay for me! LOL :) It also had fluff and not just romancy, Erik and Christine romance, but the love of a mother and father for their children. What can I say, I love LOVE. Please review, and let me know what you all like it! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	38. Love Ball

**On time once again! We are back on track, so HURRAY! ENJOY!**

Christine adjusted her mask again. For some reason it felt weird to be wearing something that she knew to be reserved for Erik on her own face. As she gazed into the mirror, she felt as though she was looking at a female version of Erik. She shuddered a little at the thought. She did not like it, but she had to wear it if she and Erik were to blend in.

But her apprehensions soon disappeared as two arms encircled her waist a lips kissed her cheek. "Did I ever tell you how absolutely gorgeous and beautiful you look, my angel?" Christine blushed and looked down.

"Well, not in the past two minutes, no. That must be a new record, MY angel." Erik laughed and kissed her again.

"Yes, you are right, it must be. And I have been in agony for the entire time, so let me just tell you that this gown makes you seem like the only beautiful woman in the entire world, and any man would be the luckiest man to have you. Which is why I am grateful that I got to you first."

"Yes, but that was not exactly my choice. You kidnaped me and made me marry you, so no other men even had a change."

"And I am sorry for that." Christine rolled her eyes, not believing him in the least.

"Of course you are, just like you are sorry that you can kiss me whenever you please." Erik grinned and kissed her cheek again.

"Well, this marriage does have its perks, and who am I to make you miserable for it all." Christine just rolled her eyes again and leaned back against him.

Suddenly Christine heard footsteps approaching and quickly ripped her mask off and put it in her purse, just as Madame Giry walked into the room, carrying the twins in her arms. "Ah, you two look absolutely beautiful together. I hope that you have a wonderful evening out in Paris. You two need it." Christine smiled at her.

"Thank you, and we greatly appreciate you being willing to watch Royden and Rose for the evening. I would never feel comfortable leaving them with anyone else."

Madame Giry smiled down the two sleeping babies she held in her arms. "Well, I consider it the greatest job I could do. These two are like grandchildren to me, so any amount of time I can spend with them is wonderful. Now, you two must get going before I have to kick you two out." Erik laughed and kissed each of the twins, disturbing them only slightly in their slumber, before taking Christine by the arm and leading her to the boat.

As they rowed along, Christine began to actually get excited about the masquerade. This would be the first time above the surface for months, and she would actually be around more people then just Erik and Madame Giry. She would be dancing, laughing and eating. She might even see Meg. She had forgotten to ask Madame Giry how Meg was, but now she might be able to see for herself. Oh, she could not wait!

Erik, on the other hand, was more nervous then excited. He had never been among people in his normal mask, he normally wore a black mask that covered most of his face. This on only covered half his face and his other eye. Also, seeing Christine in a mask like his unnerved him. It made him think that she was disfigured like he was, and if he pulled it away his beautiful Christine would be deformed. Not that he would love her any less, but it still scared him to think of her sharing his same fate. He was already eternally grateful to God that both of his children were not only normal, but beautiful in his eyes. But he still hated to think of any of them being like him, deformed and shunned from society forever. But, he refocused his gaze ahead, sending up a silent prayer that everything would go well and none of his family would ever be deformed.

When they reached the other shore, Erik helped Christine up and led her through the maze of tunnels until they reached a hidden door that was just inside the Opera House, allowing them to sneak in unnoticed and look as though they took the normal entrance. He gave Christine his arm and the pair of them entered into the main foyer, where Erik suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

Red draperies covered all the walls, wrapping around the pillars. Gargoyles adorned every corner of the room, seeming to sneer down at the guests from their aloft homes. Red roses with black ribbons were tucked into every man's shirt pocket, every woman's hand or hair, and in large bouquets on the tables. Black candlesticks added light, but seemed to do it with an eery cast. Red skulls sat on tables, stairs and in the middle of food trays, wanting to strike fear into everyone's hearts.

But what really stunned Erik was the guests. Everyone, EVERYONE was wearing his white mask, and had outfits of either red or black with hints of white. Erik felt as though he was living a nightmare where he was everywhere, but the feeling of Christine squeezing his hand for support made him take a deep breath and look at everything again, wondering why the theme seemed to be, well, him.

"Ah, Christine, I am happy you were able to attend. And who is this gentleman with you?"

**Oh boy, who is it this time? PLEASE REVIEW and I will try to keep on schedule! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	39. Revealing Love

**Okay, time for the continuation to the previous suspenseful chapter, ENJOY!**

The couple slowly turned around and Christine put a fake smile on her face as she faced Mousier Lare.

"Ah, Mousi...Phillip, it is wonderful to see you again. How are you?"

Mousier Lare smiled behind the white mask, that looked oddly exactly like Erik's. "Oh, busy. It has been such a chore to plan this ball, but I think that it was worth it, would you not agree, Christine?" Erik's hand squeezed Christine's a little harder, jealousy at this man using Christine's first name. Phillip turned to Erik. "And who may you be, Mousier? Christine never mentioned anyone special to me before."

"Oh, this is...Erik, a dear friend of mine. He was visiting Paris and I asked him if he would be so kind as to escort me to the ball."

"Well, if you had needed anyone to escort you, Christine, I would have been more then happy to do that. Perhaps next time I may?"

"Yes, perhaps next time." Christine smiled at him, silently wishing that he would just leave and find someone else to disturb.

Erik was thinking this as well, but unfortunately Phillip turned to him and asked, "How do you like the theme, Mousier, er?"

"Destler, the name is Destler."

Phillip smiled and nodded. "Mousier Destler."

"I think that it is a rather odd choice to make. I believe that this all seems to be hinting as to the Phantom of the Opera. Why this choice?"

"Publicity, of course. This will put The Opera House back on the map as a popular entertainment place. I thought with the news about the Phantom all over Paris that perhaps I could tap into that and use it as a attention getting, and it seems to have worked perfectly, would you not agree, Mousier Destler?"

Erik nodded, grimly looking around the room. "Yes, I would say that you embraced the theme, for certain."

Phillip smiled and was about to say something, but then someone called for him. He nodded at the couple. "I believe that I am needed right now, so if you will excuse me, and I will hopefully see you again tonight, Christine." He took her hand and placed his lips on it, making Erik burn with fury at the thought of that man's lips touching his sweet angel.

When Phillip disappeared, Erik turned to Christine, frowning. "Perhaps we should not have come, if that man is going to keep disturbing us."

"Oh, Erik, it is alright. I know that he is annoying, but he should not keep us from having a wonderful time here as couple in love. Come, I hear the music starting." Erik shoved his thoughts of murdering Phillip into the back of his mind and followed Christine out to the dance floor.

The pair glided over the dance floor for song after song. Eventually the other people melted into the background the Christine and Erik danced as though they were the only ones there, allowing the music to take them away.

As midnight approached, Christine gave Erik a look and he nodded, beginning to lead her away so they could leave before the clock struck midnight and everyone mask's came off. But they found that their escape was blocked by thongs of people. Erik tried to shove his way through and get at least to the main door, but no one moved. Finally he just settled to stand behind a pillar with Christine to wait it out.

As everyone counted down the last ten seconds, Erik pulled Christine close and whispered in her ear, "I love you Christine, and I am happy to have spent the past year with you, even though at times it seemed like everything was going insane. You gave me your love and now two beautiful children from that love, and I am eternally grateful."

Christine smiled up at him and whispered in his ear, "Your love means the world to me, my Angel of Music, and I look forward to another year with you, and now with two little persons whom I had the wonderful blessing to bare myself. I love you, Erik."

The pair shared a passionate kiss as the clock struck midnight and everyone cheered. Masks began to be pulled away and untied from around faces. Laughter erupted and shouts of shock as people saw whom they had been dancing and talking with that evening. Suddenly, Phillip stood up and got everyone's attention. He smiled at all of them.

"Welcome everyone, I am glad that you all enjoyed this evening. I am also pleased that everyone decided to join in with the theme and agreed to dress accordingly, but I see a couple who have not taken off their masks." Phillip walked over to Erik and Christine, who had broken apart and were now watching him. "Please, I will need to ask you two to take off your masks, for traditions sake."

Christine looked at Erik, fear seeping into her. She slowly reached up and pulled her mask off, smiling at everyone as they recognized her. Erik stood fixed like a solid statue in place, not making any move to take his mask off. Phillip sighed and shook his head.

"Mousier, you as well, please." Erik shook his head, but before he could come up with an excuse, Phillip reached up and ripped the mask off.

Screams erupted and all Christine could see was Phillip's evil, pure evil smirk on his face, with his eyes showing the type of man he really was.

"I give you the REAL Phantom of the Opera."

**Oh no! What will happen to Erik and Christine, and the twins? I guess we will have to wait to see. Please review, and I will hopefully update soon. Sadly, this story is almost done and I will soon have to say good bye again. But, let us put those sad thoughts away and you can just enjoy this chapter, so until next chapter, Li Li**


	40. The Young Love

**Sorry for that wait, but I am sad to say, this is the LAST chapter of Young Love 2! I know, I know, I will miss it as well. I am thrilled to have ended on a rounded number(perfectionist here) and 40 chapters is HUGE, especially in fanfiction. But all things, good and bad, must come to an end, and this is the end of this one good thing. I promise to come back and write more Phantom fics, but just not right now. But I will, I have too many ideas to just let them die away. So, for one last time in this story, ENJOY!**

Christine gasped and the color drained from her face, making it as white as the mask she wore. She tried to grab the mask from Phillip's hand, but several police officers had come up and were grabbing Erik's arms. Phillip turned to the shocked crowd.

"Please, everyone, stay, eat, drink, dance, you are now safe. The Phantom of the Opera is now in custody and you will all be spared from looking at this hideous monster's face forever. Officers, if you will..." The police men nodded and dragged Erik out, who was trying to fight his way out of their grasp, but to no avail. He had not forgotten that his face was uncovered, but he had more important things to focus on.

"Christine!" Erik shouted over his shoulder, trying to look behind him. Christine started to run after him, but her arm was suddenly caught. She spun around to find herself face to face with Phillip.

"Please, do not do this. He is my husband."

"That is the whole point," Phillip leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I have wanted you ever since I first saw you many, many months ago, when I had first come to Paris and saw you in front of the Opera House. You have been my one desire, my one passion, and I intend to enjoy you to my every pleasure now that your husband will be convicted and hanged for murder. Now, my dear, if you will follow me..." Phillip led Christine out of the room, while Christine tried to call out, but shock was finally catching up to her and she was unable to speak.

When Phillip opened her bedroom door and led her inside, locking it behind them, Christine finally realized what was going on and began to struggle. But it was too late.

Phillip pushed her onto the bed, climbing on top of her. "Ah, now I have you exactly where I have always wanted to have you. I would have had you sooner, if it was not for that stupid man whom I hired to kidnap you." Christine stopped struggling slightly and stared up in confusion.

"Kidnap me? Who?"

"Why, I am surprised you forgot, my dear. I would think that almost being raped by a so-called worker would be permanently imbedded in your mind. Yes, that was my plan," Phillip said to her gasp, "I hired him to kidnap you and bring you to my home, but he got greedy, and decided to enjoy you first for himself. I was a fool to hire anyone who worked in the back of an Opera House. But, no matter, I have dealt with problems like this before, especially in America."

Christine realized that she needed to keep Phillip talking, to give her more time, so she asked, "What about America? Were you famous there?"

Phillip laughed. "I suppose you could call me famous, a famous criminal. Rape, burglary, murder, arson, I have done them all, either directly or through my hired men. But, I made quite a fortune through it all, which is why I was able to move here to Paris and live comfortably, with the knowledge that the police would have no idea who I am. Well, that was until your little friend Raoul." Christine gasped.

"What about Raoul?"

"He got too nosy, found out too much information, so I had him, taken care of. Unfortunately he did not die from 'accidently' falling from the rafters, but I will have one of my men take care of him soon, if he does not die on his own first. But, framing your husband was much, much easier. If I had known how horrible people think he is from the beginning, I would have probably saved myself a great deal of headache. Having one of my men dress as your husband and murder that man worked out perfectly, especially your part in seeing it. Yes, my dear, I do have quite the reputation. Now, where was I?"

Phillip reached down and began to kiss her neck, unbuttoning the back of her dress while holding her arms down. Christine tried to scream, but his lips suddenly came upon her own and she fought against the revolting kiss, but to success. Christine knew that she no longer had a vase to hit him with, and now Erik would never be able to save her.

Tears stung her face as she realized that not only was she going to be raped, but her husband would be hung and she would never see her children ever again. She cried even harder as his arms slowly reached around her neck and began to pull her dress down.

_THUD!_

Christine noticed that Phillip was no longer kissing her, and instead, was falling to her side. She quickly scurried out from under him and almost screamed in delight when she saw Erik standing over him, a sword in his hand. He felt Phillip's neck, nodding that he was still alive and then wrapped Christine in his arms, never wanting to let go.

No words were spoken, but they both realized how lucky they were and how happy they knew the rest of their lives would be, together.

_**Epilogue.**_

Christine reclined against the bed, sighing in relief. After such a hectic day of cleaning the house AND watching the twins, she was prepared to just lay on the bed and never get up.

After learning that Erik had been able to escape the police and rescue her, she had told the exhausted police officers everything, which led to the arrest of Phillip. Using the information that Erik had, they were able to charge him with every crime he had committed and was now being dealt with by the offices of the court, both in Paris and America.

Raoul had awoken from his coma, relieved to hear of the arrest, and he and Meg were now settling into their new lives, with Raoul being the patron of the Opera House and Meg and new prima donna. They were also preparing to welcome a child into the world, with Christine ecstatic at being an aunt.

Madame Giry was busy with all things, but she was currently training a new ballet instructor so she could retire and enjoy the new babies that she was now the grandmother of.

Christine had retired from the Opera to be a wife and mother, donning the tile of Lady Phantom to help Erik run the Opera House, which was now fully in his control now that the managers had retired to the countryside for a long deserved retirement.

_CLANG!_

Christine's thoughts were interrupted by Erik's cooking skills. She groaned and got up, knowing that whatever was happening, she really did not want to know.

She walked into the kitchen and burst out laughing. Erik stood before her, covered in flour, with a flour covered twin in each arm. She walked up to him, still laughing, taking Royden in her arms.

"I see you are all having a fun time cooking." Erik glared, but could not help laughing as well.

"These two are wonderful helpers, even if they can be a bit of a pain sometimes." The couple laughed, the twins joining in as well, until it died away and the couple stared at each other. They both began to kiss, but the gurgles from the twins interrupted them.

After a quick kiss for each child, causing smiles from all, Erik quickly grabbed Christine's lips with his own, telling her all the passion and love he felt, which she felt as well, in that kiss.

The two knew that life was always going to be difficult, but they had gone through much in their short lives and were prepared for what would come next, whatever that may be. For they had one thing on their side, a tool that had helped them to overcome all obstacles in their marriage: A love untainted by time, a love that would keep its youth forever, a love that would withstand the test of time, a Young Love.

**Aw man, we are at the end! If you guys read my other stories(hint hint) you know, like in Young Love, that I always thank all my reviewers personally in the end chapter, so here we go(P.S. I have 3 people tied for Most Review award, which is awesome, so 3 people win it this time, who all sent in 26 reviews! YAY for me!):**

**Evonyshadow:** You win **First Review**! And it is no problem that you did not review Young Love, as long as you enjoyed it and are reading it over and over I am at peace :) Thanks for at least sending 1 review to this story!

**AnimeAngel41:** You are the first winner of **Most Reviews** award! Thank you so much for being there for me, as you were actually the only reviewer for several chapters straight, so thank you so much!

**VampPhan:** I hope that this chapter had 'potential.' And no, I will not shoot you. Thanks for the critique, it is great to have a little negative mixed in with the positive. Thanks for the 1 review!

**EplusCequalsLUV: **I do not know where you came up with that equation, but I do love a secret code name. I am glad that you read Young Love first before reading this one, that story was one of my best. Thanks for the 2 reviews!

**Safarisurfer:** Short, sweet and to the point, I hope that I fulfilled your one-word request for 'more'! Thanks for the 1 review!

**Phantom of the Vampire:** I am so happy that I made you *squee*! I love to *squee* myself, so I love to help others do that as well. Your 3 reviews rocked, so thank you! Also, I did check out your stories and they did look cool.

**Sugar Bird:** I love to make people dance, so thanks for letting me of that in your 1 review!

**Stargirl844:** The second winner of the **Most Reviews** award! Gee, you must reading all of my stories as I just thanked you in my Childhood Love story. But, I do thank you a lot! As usual you are hyper, chipper and a whole lot of fun to read! I love each and every one of your reviews, so thank you for sending them in! Also, I am thrilled to be the only person updating her stories. That is one of the best compliments to me, especially since I know how frustrating is with my own alert stories.

**blackheartband:** The third winner of **Most Reviews** award! I love your interesting reviews, I always love to read them. I consider them good reading material. Thank you so much for your commentary on my story!

**Preferable Brunette:** A fellow brunette, hello! Your 1 review was sweet, so thank you!

**Moreta Reborn:** Who is Moreta and when did she/he/it die? LOL :) I was just curious. Thank you so much for your 4 awesome reviews!

**Sugarhon:** I love your profile pic! I have that as another wallpaper! Also, I am glad that you liked the variety in my story. Thank you for the 9 reviews!

**Isabella101:** I am glad that at least one of my readers is obedient LOL :) Thanks for your 6 reviews, that were more great commentary on my story that I loved!

**Sarah Shiloh:** Even though you only sent in 1 review, I found it the winner of the **Most Helpful Review** award as I did try to fix all the repetitiveness I just hope that it showed. But I did find that it made my story better, so thank you so much!

**LishFish:** Lishy! You are the first person I actually know outside of Fan Fiction that has reviewed my story, so thank you! I hope that you loved the rest of my story and I will be checking on you later to make sure that you are constantly reading it :) LOL. I love your critique in your 1 review, so thank you!

**Wandering-Recluse:** Do not worry, I do not think that you are a stalker. But I love people who are obsessed with my story, so thank you! Your 2 reviews rocked! I also checked out your stories and they looked awesome!

**stanislav'sgirl:** Again, it seems to be a secret code name. I hope that I answered all the questions that you had in your 1 review. Thanks!

**PhantomTwilighter2009:** Thank you for the 3 reviews, they were awesome to read and were of great encouragement!

**Black Vampire of the Night:** I loved the Mademoiselle in your 2 reviews, they were a new twist, so thanks for them!

_**A BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU to all the people who added this story to their favorites, story alerts and C2's. You guys make the world go round, so thank you!**_

**We are finally done, but I hope that you all loved this story as much as Young Love. I will probably be writing more Phantom of the Opera stories as they are always streaming in my head, but I do not know how long it will be. Also, who knows, I might write one on Rose and Royden, who knows at this point, but you will all be the first to know(especially if you add me to your author alert list, just a thought :) So good bye for now, but I will soon be back! Buhahahahahahahaha!!! :) LoLoLoL**

_Until I write again, Li Li_


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